Development of a laser induced incandescence high vacuum system for the measurement of soot or nanoparticulate, size, mass and morphology.

There is correctly considerable concern about the particulate burden in the atmosphere, the sources of these particulates and there properties since may have been linked to health effects. This project is aimed at undertaking research to develop a new type of instrument which has unique capabilities to measure and characterise atmospheric aerosols and in particular their sources such as diesel engines.The new instrument works by aspirating particles into a vacuum where they are heated by a pulse of laser light and their subsequent glow or incandescence is measured. Previous research by the group has established that particles treated in such a way can be characterised in terms of their mass, their morphology in terms of the nano spheres of carbon which form the particle and their optical properties.This research will lead to a new instrument to be called an aerosol beam laser induced incandescence (AB-LII) system which will have unique capabilities in terms of sensitivity and particle characterisation. The instrument is then expected to be deployed for the measurement and characterisation of carbon nanoparticulates or soot from a variety of sources and especially diesel engines.The instrument also has the potential to characterise a wide variety of other nano particulates such as metals and ceramics which have a wide range of commercial applications.