PARTICULATE pollution isn’t all bad – it seemsthe particles could be helping clouds soak up ozone-destroying CFCs.
CFCs and related perfluorocarbons don’t normally dissolve in water. But when Andrei Sommer and Ralf-Peter Franke at the University of Ulm in Germany added 70-nanometre-wide spheres of polystyrene, they found that the perfluorocarbons mixed with water easily (Nano LettersDOI: 10.1021/nl025940r).
Industry and car engines emit particles that are similar in size to the polystyrene spheres. So Sommer speculates that raindrops containing these pollution particles might absorb CFCs from the atmosphere and return them to Earth. If experiments confirm his hunch, Sommer suggests that…
