Xu Liang1，2， Gao Min2， Chen Xiyao2， Zhi Minkang2， Li Wenshuai2， Wang Guochen2， Yun Qi3， Shao Longyi4， Li Weijun2，5
1.College of Sciences， China Jiliang University， Hangzhou 310018， China； 2.School of Earth Sciences， Zhejiang University， Hangzhou 310058， China； 3.College of Environmental Science and Engineering， Ocean University of China， Qingdao 266100， China； 4.College of Geoscience and Surveying Engineering， China University of Mining and Technology， Beijing 100083， China； 5.Western Zhejiang Field Research Station for Mountainous Heavy Rain， China Meteorological Administration， Hangzhou 310027， China
Abstract
Significance Atmospheric aerosols are highly heterogeneous populations in which individual particles differ in morphology， chemical composition， mixing state， hygroscopicity， and optical properties. Bulk measurements provide robust constraints on mass concentration， size distribution， and average composition， but cannot directly determine which species coexist within individualaerosolparticles， how they are spatially distributed， or how particle structure evolves during atmospheric processing. Single-particle analysis therefore serves as an essential bridge between population-averaged aerosol properties and particle-scale physicochemical processes.This reviewfollows aframework of “technical development-particle-scale properties-atmospheric processes-model parameterization”， with particular attention to studiesin East Asia and contributions from Chinese researchers. It aims to clarify how single-particle research has progressed from qualitative particle identification toward quantitative characterization of microstructure and model-relevant environmental effects.
Progress The historical development and major technical systems of single-particle analysis are summarized. Electron microscopy， especially scanning electron microscopy （SEM） and transmission electron microscopy （TEM） coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy （EDX）， established the basis for direct characterization of particle morphology， elemental composition， and internal structure. Since the 1990 s， online single-particle mass spectrometry， including aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometry （ATOFMS）， particle analysis by laser mass spectrometry （PALMS）， and single-particle aerosol mass spectrometer （SPAMS）， has developed in parallel with offline microscopy， enabling high-time-resolution tracking of particle types and chemical fingerprints. More recently， atomic force microscopy （AFM）， scanning transmission X-ray microscopy-near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure （STXM-NEXAFS） spectroscopy， nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry （NanoSIMS）， single-particle soot photometry， automated image analysis， and multimodal approaches have expanded the accessible information to include nanoscale chemical imaging， coating state， and three-dimensional structural reconstruction. These methods are complementary. Microscopy provides direct structural information but limited particle statistics， whereas online mass spectrometry provides large datasets and temporal resolution but limited quantification and no direct internal structural imaging.
Conclusions and Prospects Single-particle analysis has evolved from particle identification and classification toward quantitative characterization of microstructure， atmospheric transformation， and model constraint. Its distinctive value lies in resolving particle-to-particle heterogeneity hidden by bulk measurements and linking sources and aging processes to hygroscopic， cloud， chemical， and optical effects. Nevertheless， major bottlenecks remain， including limited particle statistics for high-resolution methods， imperfect quantification and structural information in online techniques， inconsistent sampling and classification protocols， possible alteration of semi-volatile components during vacuum analysis， and uncertainties in converting two-dimensional observations to three-dimensional structures and extrapolating local observations to regional or global populations. Future research should prioritize coordinated multimodal measurements， automated image and spectrum recognition， open and standardized single-particle databases， long-term observations across representative environments， and uncertainty-aware model parameterization. Greater integration of artificial intelligence with microscopy， spectroscopy， online mass spectrometry， particle-resolved modeling， and climate models is needed to convert descriptors such as fractal dimension， coating thickness， embedding fraction， phase separation， multicore structure， and coating composition intomodel variables. China’s diverse aerosol environments provide an important basis for developing regionally representative databases and advancing single-particle research toward quantitative constraints for air-quality and climate assessments.
Keywords： atmospheric aerosol； single-particle analysis； mixing state； atmospheric aging； model parameterization
Get Citation:Xu Liang， Gao Min， Chen Xiyao， et al. Single-particle analysis of atmospheric aerosols：from microscopic properties to environmental effects［J］. China Powder Science and Technology， 2027， 33（2）： 175-192.
Received:2026-07-21， Revised： 2026-09-17， Online： 2026-10-09。
Funding： The research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 42561160138)and the Western Zhejiang Field Research Station for Mountainous Heavy Rain, China Meteorological Administration (Grant No.ZXBYZD202601).
DOI：10.13732/j.issn.1008-5548.2027.02.013
CLC No.:TB4； TQ324.8
Type Code:A
Serial No.:1008-5548（2027）02-0175-18
