Design and evaluation of aerodynamic lens system for focusing sub-10 nm nanoparticles

Abstract

Previous designs of conventional aerodynamic lens have been widely used to focus large nanoparticles. It is a big challenge to focus small sub-10 nm nanoparticles. The focusing of small nanoparticle is controlled by two factors: high diffusivity and low inertia. Here, we made some modification for the aerodynamic lens system designed by Wang et al. (Aerosol Sci Technol 39:624, 1). The capability of focusing sub-10 nm nanoparticles was evaluated by the computational fluid dynamics software FLUENT. From numerical simulations of size-resolved particle trajectories, it was found that most of the small nanoparticles lost to the wall by diffusion. The effect of Brownian diffusion on the particle extraction from lens system is investigated. Simulations have shown that the Brownian diffusion perturbs the trajectories of nanoparticles that are dictated by the carrier gas and increase the probability of nanoparticle deposition on the wall. The effect of lens system geometry on the nanoparticles is also investigated. The results of simulation showed that the geometry of lens system affected the beam diameter and the transmission efficiency of nanoparticle.