Are black carbon and soot the same?

Abstract. The climate change and environmental literature, including that on aerosols, is replete with mention of black carbon (BC), but neither reliable samples nor standards exist. Thus, there is uncertainty about its exact nature. That confusion can be avoided if terms are defined and widely understood. Here we discuss an ambiguity between BC and soot and propose a more precise definition for soot as a specific material, which we call ns-soot, where "ns" refers to carbon nanospheres. We define ns-soot as particles that consist of nanospheres, typically with diameters < 100 nm, that possess distinct structures of concentrically wrapped, graphene-like layers of carbon and with grape-like (acinoform) morphologies. We additionally propose that, because of their importance for climate modeling and health issues, distinctions are made among bare, coated, and embedded ns-soot. BC, on the other hand, is not a well-defined material. We propose that the term should be restricted to light-absorbing refractory carbonaceous matter of uncertain character and that the uncertainty is stated explicitly.