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71st IUVSTA Workshop
Practical XPS Analysis of Nanoparticles
Alexander G. Shard 1,*
1 National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, Middlesex, UK.
*alex.shard@npl.co.uk
Detailed characterisation and measurement of nanoparticles is of vital importance in understanding
their function and behavior. There is major interest in the application of engineered nanomaterials to enhance
performance, with applications in diverse areas such as cosmetics, fabrics, catalysts, medical and electronic
devices. Concurrently, there is public concern over the potential dangers that such materials pose to human
health and the environment. In all these areas, the ability to measure important parameters, such as shape,
agglomeration state, size and chemistry in a representative and accurate manner is vital. In many applications,
the chemistry of the particle surface, or shell, defines the properties of the material in terms of processing
behavior, distribution and agglomeration and functional performance. It is therefore no surprise that surface
chemical analytical techniques, such as XPS should be applied to nanomaterials to determine the surface
chemistry. This talk will describe the application of XPS and other techniques to nanoparticles of biological
and biomedical relevance, covering the practical issues of sample preparation and the interpretation of data.
The interpretation of data is of particular importance, since it should be recognised that most analysts do not
have the time or expertise for detailed simulations. Therefore simple approaches and algorithms that do not
significantly compromise the accuracy of the result are required [1,2]. A simple method for determining the
shell thickness for spherical core-shell nanoparticles, demonstrated in Figure 1, will also be presented [3].
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