| Abstract
| - The goal of this work was to develop a simple technique for sizing colloidal particles by means of electrosprayand aerosol techniques. Size distribution of different types of colloids (oxides, metals, and polymers) suchas silica, gold, palladium, and polystyrene latex particles, with different nominal sizes below 100 nm wasdetermined online. Nanometer-sized particles were dispersed into the gas phase as an aerosol viaelectrosprays operating in the cone-jet mode of a colloidal solution followed by a charge reduction of thesprayed droplets to unity and subsequent evaporation of the solvent. The size distribution of the generatedaerosol particles was then determined by a differential mobility analyzer combined with a condensationnucleus/particle counter. For comparison, particle sizes were determined by electron microscopy (EM)using the samples which were obtained by (i) naturally dried sols and (ii) on-line deposited on a substrateduring electrospraying. The proposed technique is capable of detecting the degree of dispersity of all colloidsamples, and the measured values were comparable to results obtained by EM and dynamic light scattering.The results clearly show that the method described here constitutes a convenient, reliable, and rapid toolfor the size determination of colloidal nanoparticles.
|
