https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2020-202 Preprint. Discussion started: 21 April 2020 c Author(s) 2020. CC BY 4.0 License. Heterogeneous nucleation of water vapor on different types of black carbon particles Ari Laaksonen1,2, Jussi Malila3, Athanasios Nenes4,5 5 1Finnish Meteorological Institute, 00101 Helsinki, Finland. 2Department of Applied Physics, University of Eastern Finland, 70211 Kuopio, Finland. 3Nano and Molecular Systems Research Unit, 90014 University of Oulu, Finland. 4Laboratory of Atmospheric Processes and their Impacts, School of Architecture, Civil & Environmental Engineering, École 10 Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland 5 Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH/ICE-HT), 26504, Patras, Greece Correspondence to: Ari Laaksonen (
[email protected]) 15 Abstract: Heterogeneous nucleation of water vapor on insoluble particles affects cloud formation, precipitation, the hydrological cycle and climate. Despite its importance, heterogeneous nucleation remains a poorly understood phenomenon that relies heavily on empirical information for its quantitative description. Here, we examine heterogeneous nucleation of water vapor on and cloud drop activation of different types of soots, both pure black carbon particles, and black carbon particles mixed with secondary organic matter. We show that the recently developed adsorption nucleation theory 20 quantitatively predicts the nucleation of water and droplet formation upon particles of the various soot types. A surprising consequence of this new understanding is that, with sufficient adsorption site density, soot particles can activate into cloud droplets – even when completely lacking any soluble material. 1 https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2020-202 Preprint. Discussion started: 21 April 2020 c Author(s) 2020.