Cant, D. J. H., Minelli, C., Sparnacci, K., Müller, A., Kalbe, H., Stöger-Pollach, M., Unger, W. E. S., Werner, W. S. M., & Shard, A. G. (2020). Surface-Energy Control and Characterization of Nanoparticle Coatings. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 124(20), 11200–11211. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.0c02161
E134-01 - Forschungsbereich Applied and Computational Physics E057-02 - Fachbereich Universitäre Serviceeinrichtung für Transmissions- Elektronenmikroskopie
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Journal:
The Journal of Physical Chemistry C
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ISSN:
1932-7447
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Date (published):
2020
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Number of Pages:
12
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Publisher:
American Chemical Society (ACS)
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Peer reviewed:
Yes
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Keywords:
General Energy; Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials; Physical and Theoretical Chemistry; Surfaces, Coatings and Films
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Abstract:
Accurate and reproducible measurement of the
structure and properties of high-value nanoparticles is extremely
important for their commercialization. A significant proportion of
engineered nanoparticle systems consist of some form of nominally
core−shell structure, whether by design or unintentionally. Often,
these do not form an ideal core−shell structure, with typical
deviations including polydispersity of the core or shell, uneven or
incomplete shells, noncentral cores, and others. Such systems may
be created with or without intent, and in either case an
understanding of the conditions for formation of such particles is
desirable. Precise determination of the structure, composition, size,
and shell thickness of such particles can prove challenging without
the use of a suitable range of characterization techniques. Here, the
authors present two such polymer core−shell nanoparticle systems,
consisting of polytetrafluoroethylene cores coated with a range of thicknesses of either polymethylmethacrylate or polystyrene. By consideration of surface energy, it is shown that these particles are expected to possess distinctly differing coating structures, with the polystyrene coating being incomplete. A comprehensive characterization of these systems is demonstrated, using a selection of complementary techniques including scanning electron microscopy, scanning transmission electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, dynamic light scattering, differential centrifugal sedimentation, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. By combining the results provided by these techniques, it is possible to achieve superior characterization and understanding of the particle structure than could be obtained by considering results separately.