Dear all,
I have prepared and dried nanoparticles (20nm) of Lanthanum Strontium Manganate. For further characterisation, I would like to place them onto a glass substrate. My question is: How to achieve individual, separated nanoparticles on a substrate without agglomeration?
I have considered surfactants and spin-coat, but then I need the particles to be free of surfactant for measurements and I do not see how I could remove the surfactant without removing the particle as well.
I would appreciate any ideas.
Thank you very much
Cornelia H.,
I imagine this is difficult without spin coating something like polylysine on the substrate prior to dip coating or spraying a dispersion of your nanoparticles onto the substrate (Ted Pella sells and describes this use of polylysine, for instance). With careful rinsing of the polylysine treated substrate and appropriate pH choice for deposition of a dilute solution of nanoparticles you might at least get nanoparticles separate from one another and with no/little chemical adlayer on their upward facing surfaces.
Sometimes a protic diluent like 2-propanol can help, and it is reasonably easy to remove by vacuum oven drying at a moderate temperature. You would probably want to (if you think it would not fracture your materials) ultrasonicate in a dilute solution of your nanoparticles in 2-propanol prior to letting it down on the substrate.
When you solve it, let us know how you did it!
Best regards,
Mike
This is question is very interesting, but I believe that always a controlled solution when you focus the relationship between thickness and temperature in order to lower the possibility of increased thickness disaggregation,
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