Abstract
A series of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are performed in order to provide qualitative information on the mechanisms of disintegration of aerosol particles as used in aerosol mass spectrometry. Three generic types of aerosol particles are considered: strongly absorbing particles with homogeneous composition, transparent particles with absorbing inclusion, and absorbing particles with transparent inclusion. To study the effect of the mechanical properties of the aerosol material on the disintegration process, the results for crystalline (brittle) and amorphous (ductile) particles are compared. For large laser fluences, nearly complete dissociation of the absorbing material is observed, whereas the nonabsorbing portions remain fairly intact. Because large fluences can cause photofragmentation of constituent molecules, multiple pulses at low laser fluence and/or lasers with different wavelengths are recommended for the best representative sampling of multicomponent aerosol particles in laser desorption/ionization (LDI) mass spectrometry.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 245-250 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms |
Volume | 180 |
Issue number | 1-4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 1 2001 |
Event | Computer Simulation of Radiation Effects in Solids Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms - State College, PA, United States Duration: Jul 24 2000 → Jul 28 2000 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Nuclear and High Energy Physics
- Instrumentation