Does grinding affect in any way the shape and aggregation of certain nanoparticles?
Of course, grinding or milling can change the actual morphology of the sample.
Grinding certainly changes the shape of the prepared nanoparticles. If you first measured the size and crystal structure of the sample and study again after grinding using SEM images you will surely notice the difference.
I am afraid that your question is too general to give a good answer. Please specify which material you have: e.g. a polymer latex or a hard inorganic particle. Next it is important if your nanoparticles (NPs) are dry or in a dispersion. In a dispersion the concentration of NPs is crucial. Next, you need to consider which type of grinding you are using, wet or dry-grinding. And finally in what state are your NPs, are they already agglomerated (mostly when you dried them!), or a monodisperse state like in a latex.
Please also note that in grinding of NPs it is often not so much the mechanical energy (shear forces) that may change your NPs but the energy input as a form of heating. Grinding NP dispersions, but also NPS powder, may heat up your material so much that it shows plastic deformation, or for inorganics that they merge into hard agglomerates. Cryo-grinding is an option if this is a problem.
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