The surface tension of surfactant-containing, finite volume droplets.

ABSTRACT: Surface tension influences the fraction of atmospheric particles that become cloud droplets. Although surfactants are an important component of aerosol mass, the surface tension of activating aerosol particles is still unresolved, with most climate models assuming activating particles have a surface tension equal to that of water. By studying picoliter droplet coalescence, we demonstrate that surfactants can significantly reduce the surface tension of finite-sized droplets below the value for water, consistent with recent field measurements. Significantly, this surface tension reduction is droplet size-dependent and does not correspond exactly to the macroscopic solution value. A fully independent monolayer partitioning model confirms the observed finite-size-dependent surface tension aris

SUBMITTER: Bzdek BR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7165431 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature