A key parameter for describing the partitioning of chemical substances at interfaces like air-water or air-aerosols is the saturation vapor pressure of a given substance, i.e. the pressure of the substance above a liquid or solid surface of the pure substance at a given temperature at equilibrium. Current state-of-the-art instrumentation in physical chemistry and atmospheric science does not allow the measurement of saturation vapor pressures in the relevant low-volatility range in a unified, direct and efficient way. 

This interdisciplinary project, funded by IRFD-FTP and carried out between IFA (Aurélien Dantan, Henrik B. Pedersen) and the Chemistry department (Merete Bilde), proposes to solve this fundamental measurement problem by building a novel instrument exploiting state-of-the art micromechanical sensors, interferometry, ultrahigh vacuum technology, and aerosol sample preparation and handling. In addition to providing highly valuable data for environmental science databases and modelling, the instrument’s potential as a new standard tool will be benchmarked by complementary chamber and spectroscopy experiments.  Se mere på IRFDs hjemmeside