Determination of primary particle size distributions from time-resolved laser-induced incandescence measurements.

For a polydisperse nanoparticle ensemble the evaluation of time-resolved laser-induced incandescence (LII) measurements yields a weighted average value for the primary nanoparticle size. Although this value is sufficient for narrow size distributions, a comprehensive characterization of a particle-evolution process requires the reconstruction of the size distribution. An easy-to-use online approach is presented to evaluate the LII signal regarding higher moments of the distribution. One advantage of this approach is that the size distribution results in a deceleration of the LII signal decay with time after the laser pulse. Therefore LII signal-decay curves are evaluated in two different time intervals after the laser pulse, providing information about the desired distribution parameters that has been tested successfully with experimental curves taken in different soot-formation processes.