Aerosols of Lead, Nickel, and Cadmium

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Abstract
We have developed an aerosol generator for the production of soluble and insoluble nickel, lead, and cadmium aerosols. From solutions of lead chloride or nickel chloride, water soluble aerosols with mass median diameters (MMD) of 0.19 μm and 0.30 μm, respectively, were produced. Aerosols of nickel oxide (NiO) and cadmium oxide (CdO) were produced by aerosolizing aqueous solutions of nickel citrate or cadmium acetate with air and then thermally decomposing the resulting aerosol in a tube furnace heated to 600 C. The resulting aerosols of NiO and CdO had MMDs of 0.24 μm and 0.15 μm, respectively. The use of a nebulizer with soluble salts of metals followed by thermal decomposition and oxidation to form the required oxide provides a simple, easily controlled, and flexible system for the generation of aerosols of metal oxides.