Effect of oxidation temperature on oxidation reactivity and nanostructure of particulate matter from a China VI GDI vehicle

Modern Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) vehicles offered higher power output, improved fuel economy and reduced CO2 emissions compared with port fuel injection (PFI) vehicles. However, the particle number emission of GDI is larger than that of PFI and also higher than diesel vehicles equipped with diesel particle filter (DPF). This research sampled particle matter (PM) emitted from a China VI vehicle over the Worldwide harmonized Light vehicles Test Cycle (WLTC). The results of particle size distribution showed that ultra-fine particles in diameter below 23 nm take up majority of particle emissions. While with the oxidation temperature rising, the peak diameter of emitted particles migrated to larger section. The effect of oxidation temperature including interlayer spacing, fractal dimension, fringe length and tortuosity have been analyzed by TEM. The value of nano structural parameters increases slightly with the temperature increasing. Besides, the impact of volatile components was considered into the micromorphology and microstructure parameters of primary particles. After eliminating volatile materials, there is no presence of hollow carbon particles and all the three parameters including interlayer spacing, fringe length and fringe tortuosity showed an overall decrease. Better understanding nano structural parameters of PM under different oxidation temperatures can provide information to explain the potential impacts of particle emissions on human health and environment and the regeneration process of gasoline particle filter (GPF).