Nanoparticle Size Determination by TEM: Drawbacks and the Necessity of the Combination with Average Techniques

GASTÓN CORTHEY; E. ZELAYA; ALDO A. RUBERT; G.A. BENÍTEZ; L. J. GIOVANETTI; JOSÉ M. RAMALLO-LÓPEZ; F. G. REQUEJO; M. H. FONTICELLI; ROBERTO C. SALVAREZZA

Río de Janeiro, Brasil

Congreso; International Microscopy Congress; 2010

Sociedade Brasileira de Microscopia e Microanálise SBMM

The particle size distribution determination is one of the first characterization steps afternanoparticles (NPs) synthesis. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) has been one of the mostwidely used method to determine particle size. Additionally, Small-angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS)has become a commonly used technique for this purpose. One of the advantages of SAXS methodover TEM is that it is an average technique and every particle contributes to the particle sizedistribution. Also, the particles are measured without drying or mounting the sample. However it isnecessary to propose a model for the particle morphology to determine size using SAXS. While it iswidely known that an electron beam can be used to produce metallic arrangement starting formmetallic oxides or other compounds [1], it has only recently been used to produce metallic NPs