IN-SITU INVESTIGATION OF AEROSOL-PARTICLES BY ATOMIC-FORCE MICROSCOPY

In-situ imaging of aerosol particles deposited on mica in the TM-AFM l iquid cell has been performed in order to study their dissolution beha vior. The results show that the implementation of in-situ experiments is very useful for obtaining information on the physical and chemical behavior of individual particles. Experiments were carried out using a mmonium sulfate and soot-like particles as test aerosols. Water solubl e fractions can be easily distinguished from insoluble fractions. This can also be utilized to proof the existence of internally mixed parti cles. These model experiments are an important basis for further inves tigations on airborne particles involving other solvent systems and ti me resolved measurements.