In contact mode, if the particles put on a base without additional preparation, in higher magnification they detach from base and move. I heard about some liquid glue but the easy solution (lower price) is better of course!
What kind of metalic NPs are these? Metal or some semiconductor? There are several routes for functional attaching various NPs to a surface.
My question is general, for various metallic and ceramic NPs and specially for ceramic NPs
Usually this depends on the type of NPs you want to image in the AFM. Try to search for a functionalization scheme for your NPs and a surface of your choice (usually it is golf covered glass or silicon).
Since AFM works with various style, tapping, touching, electrically, temperature,...you need to know exactly your surface, your NPs behavior. meaning, are the NPs have electrostatic or surface charge, which any bias voltage will make the NPs excited...and move. One idea is immobilize the NPs with substrate of another NPs that is much biger, precise position it and later drop your NPs. In protein immobilization, usually gold NPs is used to trapped the protein, before the protein were investigate using SEM, AFM or STM. Therefore, I suggest you look into the materials that can be used to immobolized or "catch" your NPs. Fabricate these material precisely...than you trapped your NPs for observation and experiment.
Dear Mohd
How to find out "NPs have electrostatic or surface charge"
what about double side tape?
However I'm seriously worry about tip damage while scan the tape surface!
Double sided tape is not in the scale you are interested in, if theses are really nanoparticles. I really suggest in finding a route to attach it to a surface using some conjugation scheme. If you could give more info regarding the NPs and surface I guess I could try to find something that might interest you.
Dear Nikodem
I will test varied samples for example cobalt ferrite and zinc oxide NPs. then the surface usually is mica or silicon.
This seems to be a good review regarding magnetic NPs and their functionalization - http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/anie.200602866/full. I have no experience in handling these materials but I know that there are several routes for functional attaching metallic NPs to silicon.
I had the experiment of monitoring nanoparticles by AFM ((SPI3800N/4000, SII Nanotechnology Inc., Chiba-shi, Chiba, Japan). We changed the function into DFM (Dynamic force Microscope) in contact mode, and got pretty good sight on the nanoparticles on particular substrate.
Dear Hamid, the paper is not published yet, It is under review as soon as it gets published, I will send it to you..
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