Light Absorption by Carbonaceous Particles: An Investigative Review

Abstract

The optical properties of the light-absorbing, carbonaceous substance often called "soot," "black carbon," or "carbon black" have been the subject of some debate. These properties are necessary to model how aerosols affect climate, and our review is targeted specifically for that application. We recommend the term light-absorbing carbon to avoid conflict with operationally based definitions. Absorptive properties depend on molecular form, particularly the size of sp 2-bonded clusters. Freshly-generated particles should be represented as aggregates, and their absorption is like that of particles small relative to the wavelength. Previous compendia have yielded a wide range of values for both refractive indices and absorption cross section. The absorptive properties of light-absorbing carbon