Characterization of

nanoparticles
PREPARED BY: PRASUN SARKAR
ENROLLMENT NO: 200502002
SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
CENTRAL UNIVERSITY OF GUJARAT
 Characterization of nanoparticles involves studying of the nanoparticle features such as its size, shape,
composition, structure & various properties like physical, electric, magnetic etc.
 Nanomaterials, dispersed in the form of colloids in solutions, particles (dry powders) or thin films are
characterized by various techniques.
 Nanoparticle properties vary significantly with size and shape, or type of functional group etc.
 Accurate measurement or characterization of nanoparticles is therefore necessary to it’s application.
General methods for characterization of nanomaterials.

Spectroscopic methods:
1) UV Visible Spectroscopy
2) Dynamic light Scattering
3) X Ray Spectroscopy
4) Fourier Transformed Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR)
Microscopic methods:
5) Atomic force microscopy
6) Scanning Electron Microscopy
7) Transmission Electron Microscopy
1) Uv-Visible Spectroscopy: states that the absorptive capacity of a dissolved substance is directly proportional
to its concentration in a solution. The relationship can be expressed as 
A = εlc 
A is absorbance, ε is the molar extinction coefficient (which depends on the nature of the chemical and the
wavelength of the light used), l is the length of the path light must travel in the solution in centimeters, and c is the
concentration of a given solution.
 In a UV-Vis spectroscope, light is generated in the visible and UV range by a lamp (tungsten, deuterium, or
xenon) and then split into different wavelengths by a diffraction grating.
 The different wavelengths of light are then projected through the sample material of interest, and the resulting
light is detected.
 The absorbance or transmission profile of the sample material is then plotted as intensity versus wavelength.
 Generally, the UV range is between 190 and 380 nm, and the visible range is between 380 and about 750 nm.
Both these types of radiation interact with matter and cause electronic transitions (promotion of electrons from
the ground state to a high-energy state)
2) Dynamic light scattering:
Nanotechnology and nanoscience are strongly reliant on the fact that the properties of nanometer-scale materials
have a direct relationship to their size and shape.
Therefore, the size has a large bearing on the final characteristics of the nanometer-scale material being
synthesized.
Generally, particles that are synthesized in a liquid can be quantified using a straightforward technique known as
dynamic light scattering (DLS).
Particles suspended in solution or dispersed in a solvent are always in constant motion because of Brownian
motion which actually further triggers collision amongst them.
Therefore, small particles will move faster compared to larger (heavier) particles. When a beam of light passes
through a colloidal solution, the particles will scatter light in all directions.
Particles suspended in solution or dispersed in a solvent are always in constant motion because of Brownian
motion which actually further triggers collision amongst them.
Therefore, small particles will move faster compared to larger (heavier) particles. When a beam of light passes
through a colloidal solution, the particles will scatter light in all directions.
If the particles are very small compared to the wavelength of light, then the intensity of the scattered light will be
uniform in all directions (Rayleigh scattering).
However, when the particles are larger than 250 nm in diameter, the intensity of the scattered light is dependent on
the scatter angle (Mie scattering).
This causes fluctuation in the intensity of the scattered light through which the diffusion co-efficient is estimated
out.
where Dh is the hydrodynamic diameter of the particle, Dt is the translational diffusion coefficient (from DLS
measurements), and kB is the dynamic viscosity.
3) FTIR Spectroscopy:
FTIR spectroscopy detects the absorption of light by a molecule in the Infra-red region of the electromagnetic
spectrum.
To absorb light of infra red region, a molecule must possess a bond in their chemical structure which exhibits
dipole moment.
One notable example of it can be the O-H bond in alcoholic or carboxylic compounds in which, electron sharing
between Oxygen and hydrogen becomes unequal thus creating a partial positive charge on oxygen and partial
negative charge on oxygen, thus creating an electron pull.
This results in the molecule exhibiting higher rotational and vibrational states, thus absorbing IR radiation and then
it’s concentration can be quantified using their characteristic peak value.
Only major difference between the IR spectroscopy and Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) is in
their instrumentation part.
 FTIR instrument consists of IR source emits a broad band radiation having various IR wavelengths.
 Usually a SiC ceramic heated around 1550 Kelvin is used as IR source.
 Rather than a monochromator, a Michelson interferometer is often employed to analyze the infrared beam after
passing through sample.
 The IR radiation passes from the interferometer which modulates it by performing optical inverse Fourier
transform on this radiation.
 Modulated IR beam is then passed from a gas specimen which absorbs it at different wavelengths due to
different molecules present in it.
 Finally, a detector detects the intensity of IR radiation. A computer digitizes and performs Fourier transform on
detected signal to produce IR spectrum of gas sample
4) X ray diffraction spectroscopy
X-ray diffraction is a versatile nondestructive method used in material, physical, chemical, and biological sciences
to identify and quantitatively determine the crystalline phases present in a solid sample.
Powder XRD is a technique specifically developed to characterize the crystallographic structure, crystallite size
(grain size), and preferred crystal orientations in powdered solid samples.
In X-ray crystallography, a collimated beam of X-rays is generated and sent toward the sample material under
investigation.
The atomic centers in the crystal lattice act as point diffractors when the X-ray beam illuminates the sample
material.
 Each of the diffracted X-ray beams corresponds to a coherent reflection (called a Bragg reflection) created by
the atomic planes containing the atoms with the crystal. In fact, X-rays and the Bragg equation have been
extensively used in identifying crystal structures (and the atomic arrangements) since the early 1900s. When an
X-ray source of known wavelength λ is sent through an unknown crystal structure (or crystals), the diffracted
beam angle is predicted by the Bragg equation.
nλ = 2d sin θ
 where n is any integer, λ is the wavelength of the incident X-rays, d is the interplanar spacing, and θ is the
diffraction angle.