Uptake of atmospheric molecules by ice nanoparticles: Pickup cross sections

Uptake of several atmospheric molecules on free ice nanoparticles was investigated. Typical examples were chosen: water, methane, NOx species (NO, NO2), hydrogen halides (HCl, HBr), and volatile organic compounds (CH3OH, CH3CH2OH). The cross sections for pickup of these molecules on ice nanoparticles (H2O)(N) with the mean size of (N) over bar approximate to 260 (diameter similar to 2.3 nm) were measured in a molecular beam experiment. These cross sections were determined from the cluster beam velocity decrease due to the momentum transfer during the pickup process. For water molecules molecular dynamics simulations were performed to learn the details of the pickup process. The experimental results for water are in good agreement with the simulations. The pickup cross sections of ice particles of several nanometers in diameter can be more than 3 times larger than the geometrical cross sections of these particles. This can have significant consequences in modelling of atmospheric ice nanoparticles, e.g., their growth. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4733987]