title: Nanoscale characterization of PM2.5 airborne pollutants reveals high adhesiveness and aggregation capability of soot particles.
abstract: In 2012 air pollutants were responsible of seven million human death worldwide, and among them particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less (PM2.5) are the most hazardous because they are small enough to invade even the smallest airways and penetrate to the lungs. During the last decade the size, shape, composition, sources and effect of these particles on human health have been studied. However, the noxiousness of these particles not only relies on their chemical toxicity, but particle morphology and mechanical properties affect their thermodynamic behavior, which has notable impact on their biological activity. Therefore, correlating the physical, mechanical and chemical properties of PM2.5 airborne pollutants should be the first step to characterize their interaction with other bodies but, unfortunately, such analysis has never been reported before. In this work, we present the first nanomechanical characterization of the most abundant and universal groups of PM2.5 airborne pollutants and, by means of atomic force microscope (AFM) combined with other characterization tools, we observe that fluffy soot aggregates are the most sticky and unstable. Our experiments demonstrate that such particles show strong adhesiveness and aggregation, leading to a more diverse composition and compiling all possible toxic chemicals.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Functional Nano &Soft Materials, Soochow University, 199 Ren-Ai Road, Suzhou Industrial Park, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215123, China.
authors.forename: Yuanyuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Institute of Functional Nano &Soft Materials, Soochow University, 199 Ren-Ai Road, Suzhou Industrial Park, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215123, China.
authors.forename: Yanfeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.affiliation: 1] State Key Laboratory for Turbulence and Complex Systems, Department of Mechanics and Engineering Science, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China [2] CAPT, HEDPS and IFSA Collaborative Innovation Center of MoE, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Institute of Functional Nano &Soft Materials, Soochow University, 199 Ren-Ai Road, Suzhou Industrial Park, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215123, China.
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hui
authors.affiliation: Institute of Functional Nano &Soft Materials, Soochow University, 199 Ren-Ai Road, Suzhou Industrial Park, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215123, China.
authors.forename: Jianchen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Chinese Center For Disease Control and Prevention, Institute of Environmental Health and Related Product Safety. 7 Panjiayuannanli, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100021 China.
authors.forename: Yaxi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Chinese Center For Disease Control and Prevention, Institute of Environmental Health and Related Product Safety. 7 Panjiayuannanli, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100021 China.
authors.forename: Jianlong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: 1] State Key Laboratory for Turbulence and Complex Systems, Department of Mechanics and Engineering Science, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China [2] CAPT, HEDPS and IFSA Collaborative Innovation Center of MoE, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
authors.forename: Jianxiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: 1] State Key Laboratory for Turbulence and Complex Systems, Department of Mechanics and Engineering Science, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China [2] CAPT, HEDPS and IFSA Collaborative Innovation Center of MoE, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
authors.forename: Huiling
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.affiliation: Institute of Functional Nano &Soft Materials, Soochow University, 199 Ren-Ai Road, Suzhou Industrial Park, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215123, China.
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lanza
mesh_terms: D000268:Adhesiveness; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D053758:Nanoparticles; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000737:chemistry*; D053260:Soot
chemical_list: D052638:Particulate Matter; D053260:Soot