Image potential between a charged particle and an uncharged particle in aerosol coagulation—enhancement in all size regimes and interplay with van der Waals forces

Abstract

Coagulation between a charged particle and an uncharged particle arises in ionic aerosol clustering and in ion-induced nucleation. In this paper, we obtain an analytical expression for the image potential for situations of charged-uncharged particle coagulation. The interparticle coagulation rate enhancement in the presence of the newly derived image potential over the entire range of Knudson number is calculated. A simultaneous potential composed of the image potential and a van der Waals potential is subsequently considered. Conditions in which each of the component potentials predominates are determined.

Additional details