Challenges in the size analysis of a silica nanoparticle mixture as candidate certified reference material

• Published in: Journal of nanoparticle research : an interdisciplinary forum for nanoscale science and technology Vol. 18; no. 6; p. 171
• Main Authors: Kestens, Vikram, Roebben, Gert, Herrmann, Jan, Jämting, Åsa, Coleman, Victoria, Minelli, Caterina, Clifford, Charles, De Temmerman, Pieter-Jan, Mast, Jan, Junjie, Liu, Babick, Frank, Cölfen, Helmut, Emons, Hendrik
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 2016; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Fractionation; Inorganic Chemistry; Lasers; Light scattering; Materials Science; Nanoparticles; Nanotechnology; Optical Devices; Optics; Particle size; Photonics; Physical Chemistry; Quality control; Research Paper; Silica; Quality assurance; Measurement uncertainty; Silica nanoparticles; Interlaboratory comparison study; Measurand; Particle size analysis; Certified reference material; Nanotechnology
• ISSN: 1388-0764; 1572-896X
• DOI: 10.1007/s11051-016-3474-2

A new certified reference material for quality control of nanoparticle size analysis methods has been developed and produced by the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements of the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre. The material, ERM-FD102, consists of an aqueous suspension of a mixture of silica nanoparticle populations of distinct particle size and origin. The characterisation relied on an interlaboratory comparison study in which 30 laboratories of demonstrated competence participated with a variety of techniques for particle size analysis. After scrutinising the received datasets, certified and indicative values for different method-defined equivalent diameters that are specific for dynamic light scattering (DLS), centrifugal liquid sedimentation (CLS), scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), particle tracking analysis (PTA) and asymmetrical-flow field-flow fractionation (AF4) were assigned. The value assignment was a particular challenge because metrological concepts were not always interpreted uniformly across all participating laboratories. This paper presents the main elements and results of the ERM-FD102 characterisation study and discusses in particular the key issues of measurand definition and the estimation of measurement uncertainty.