Morphological characterization of airborne particles from Medellin metropolitan area

The physical and chemical characterization of particulate matter (PM) is essential to understand its effects on the environment and human health. There are few studies that have characterized the morphology of airborne PM in Colombia, and most have focused only on those generated from combustion processes. The aim of this study is to characterize the morphology and chemical composition of PM
2.5
collected in a high traffic zone in the city of Medellín, Colombia. Particles were collected on Teflon filters and extracted with ethanol. The extracts were analyzed by EDS-TEM and Raman spectroscopy. It was found that most of the particles have the aciniform morphology exhibited by soot particles emitted from combustion engines, composed of spheroidal primary particles with a median diameter of 48.6nm. The PM
2.5
contains elements such as Cl, Ca, K, Na, Si, Mg, S, P, and O, with a high disordered carbonaceous nanostructure.