Design, Demonstration and Performance of a Versatile Electrospray Aerosol Generator for Nanomaterial Research and Applications

Details

• Personal Author:
  Eiguren-Fernandez A ; Fung DC ; Hinds W ; Hirakawa KS ; Jennerjohn N ; Kennedy NJ ; Prikhodko S ; Zavala-Mendez JD
• Description:
  Carbon nanotubes are difficult to aerosolize in a controlled manner. We present a method for generating aerosols not only of carbon nanotubes, but also of many reference and proprietary materials including quantum dots, diesel particulate matter, urban dust, and their mixtures, using electrospraying. This method can be used as a teaching tool, or as the starting point for advanced research, or to deliver nanomaterials in animal exposure studies. This electrospray system generates 180 microg of nanotubes per m(3) of carrier gas, and thus aerosolizes an occupationally relevant mass concentration of nanotubes. The efficiency achievable for single-walled carbon nanotubes is 9.4%. This system is simple and quick to construct using ordinary lab techniques and affordable materials. Since it is easy to replace soiled parts with clean ones, experiments on different types of nanomaterial can be performed back to back without contamination from previous experiments. In this paper, the design, fabrication, operation and characterization of our versatile electrospray method are presented. Also, the morphological changes that carbon nanotubes undergo as they make the transition from dry powders to aerosol particles are presented. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aerosols Air Pollutants, Occupational Dust Laboratories Occupational Health Particulate Matter Safety
• Keywords:
  Aerosol Particles Airborne Fibers Airborne Particles Electrolytic Analysis Laboratory Testing Nanotechnology Particle Aerodynamics Particulate Dust Particulates
• ISSN:
  0957-4484
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  21
• Issue:
  25
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20037061
• Citation:
  Nanotechnology 2010 Jun; 21(25):255603
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2010
• Performing Organization:
  University of California Los Angeles
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Nanotechnology
• End Date:
  20270630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:9555be3ea83f5a5f4d3eee2b245ab30ee6e144969005c7950dae98db131616ce813b718cf08845ae9e885df411e036abc04dede2e87a80bc26054e12fe8c642d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/188220/cdc_188220_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 3.30 MB ]