Fig. 1: Typical transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and cryogenic TEM (cryo-TEM) images of black carbon (BC)-containing particles with different mixing structures.
From: Liquid-liquid phase separation reduces radiative absorption by aged black carbon aerosols
a TEM images of externally mixed BC particle, BC in S-rich (BC-in-Icore) particle, and BC in organic coating (BC-in-Ocoating) particle. The mixing models of BC-containing particles are shown in the upper right corners of the TEM images. The black circle aggregates, cyan circles, and orange rings represent BC, S-rich, and organic coatings, respectively. b Cryo-TEM images of BC-in-Ocoating particles. These particles were exposed to atmospheric conditions with different relative humidity (RH) = 75 ± 2%, 86 ± 2%, and 95 ± 2% for 10 min before being frozen, respectively. The BC-in-Ocoating particles at RH of 75 ± 2% and 86 ± 2% remained liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) between organic matter and inorganic salts. The LLPS of the BC-in-Ocoating particle disappeared when it was at 95 ± 2% RH.
