Accurate Sizing of Nanoparticles Using a High-Throughput Charge Detection Mass Spectrometer without Energy Selection.
ACS Nano
; 17(8): 7765-7774, 2023 Apr 25.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37027782
ABSTRACT
The sizes and shapes of nanoparticles play a critical role in their chemical and material properties. Common sizing methods based on light scattering or mobility lack individual particle specificity, and microscopy-based methods often require cumbersome sample preparation and image analysis. A promising alternative method for the rapid and accurate characterization of nanoparticle size is charge detection mass spectrometry (CDMS), an emerging technique that measures the masses of individual ions. A recently constructed CDMS instrument designed specifically for high acquisition speed, efficiency, and accuracy is described. This instrument does not rely on an ion energy filter or estimates of ion energy that have been previously required for mass determination, but instead uses direct, in situ measurements. A standardized sample of â¼100 nm diameter polystyrene nanoparticles and â¼50 nm polystyrene nanoparticles with amine-functionalized surfaces are characterized using CDMS and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Individual nanoparticle masses measured by CDMS are transformed to diameters, and these size distributions are in close agreement with distributions measured by TEM. CDMS analysis also reveals dimerization of â¼100 nm nanoparticles in solution that cannot be determined by TEM due to the tendency of nanoparticles to agglomerate when dried onto a surface. Comparing the acquisition and analysis times of CDMS and TEM shows particle sizing rates up to â¼80× faster are possible using CDMS, even when samples â¼50× more dilute were used. The combination of both high-accuracy individual nanoparticle measurements and fast acquisition rates by CDMS represents an important advance in nanoparticle analysis capabilities.
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MEDLINE
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2023
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Article