Aerosol Particle Growth Systems Using Polymer Electrolyte Membranes

Disclosed herein are aerosol particle growth systems including polymer electrolyte membranes and related methods of increasing the size of aerosol particles. In some embodiments, an outer housing contains a reservoir of a working fluid, and a PEM conduit extends through the outer housing, the reservoir, and the working fluid so that the working fluid is in contact with an outer surface of the PEM conduit. The conduit can be generally helical or coiled, for example. In some embodiments, the working fluid is molecularly transported across the PEM and disperses into an aerosol flowing through the PEM conduit. As the aerosol flows through the PEM conduit, the aerosol particles act as nucleation sites for the gaseous working fluid, which condenses on the particles, causing the particles to grow in size and making them easier to detect, collect, measure, count, study, or otherwise investigate.