Measuring the Refractive Index and Sub-Nanometre Surface Functionalisation of Nanoparticles in Suspension

Niall Mulkerns; Wil H Hoffmann; Francisco Javier Ramos Soriano; Noelia de la Cruz; Teodoro Garcia Millan; Robert L Harniman; Ian D Lindsay; Annela M Seddon; M C Galan; Henkjan Gersen

doi:10.1039/D2NR00120A

Measuring the Refractive Index and Sub-Nanometre Surface Functionalisation of Nanoparticles in Suspension

Niall Mulkerns, Wil H Hoffmann, Francisco Javier Ramos Soriano, Noelia de la Cruz, Teodoro Garcia Millan, Robert L Harniman, Ian D Lindsay, Annela M Seddon, M C Galan, Henkjan Gersen

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

111 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Direct measurements to determine the degree of surface coverage of nanoparticles by functional moieties are rare, with current strategies requiring a high level of expertise and expensive equipment. Here, a practical method to determine the ratio of the volume of the functionalisation layer to the particle volume based on measuring the refractive index of nanoparticles in suspension is proposed. As a proof of concept, this technique is applied to poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) nanoparticles and semicrystalline carbon dots functionalised with different surface moieties, yielding refractive indices that are commensurate to those from previous literature and Mie theory. In doing so, it is demonstrated that this technique is able to optically detect differences in surface functionalisation or composition of nanometre-sized particles. This non-destructive and rapid method is well-suited for in situ industrial particle characterisation and biological applications.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	8145-8152
Number of pages	8
Journal	Nanoscale
Volume	14
Issue number	22
Early online date	5 May 2022
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1039/D2NR00120A https://doi.org/10.1039/d2nr00120a
Publication status	Published - 9 Jun 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The authors thank Adrian Crimp and his team at the Bristol Engineering Workshop for manufacturing mechanical components integral to this work. The authors also thank the Wolfson Bioimaging Facility for their support and assistance in this work. This work was funded in part by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council under grant number EP/L016648/1. N. M. C. M. and H. G. also acknowledge support by the National Productivity and Investment Fund co-funded by Carbometrics (EP/R51245/X). PeakForce Atomic Force Microscopy was conducted with equipment funded by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/K035746/1). The Ganesha X-ray scattering apparatus used for this research was purchased under EPSRC Grant “Atoms to Applications” (EP/K035746/1). This work also benefitted from the SasView software, originally developed by the DANSE project under NSF award DMR-0520547. J. R. S. acknowledges a MSCA fellowship (project 843720-BioNanoProbes). M. C. G. thanks the European Research Council (ERC-COG: 648239). M. C. G. and N. C. R. also acknowledge the support of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council under grant EP/S26215/1. T. G. M. acknowledges support from Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACyT).

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Royal Society of Chemistry

Keywords

nanoparticles
Nanoparticles Optical characterization
Carbon dots
Rayleigh scattering
Refractive index
Interferometry
backscattering interferometry
surface functionalization

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Full-text PDF (final published version)
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Final published version, 1.3 MBLicence: CC BY

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6 Citations
4 Article (Academic Journal)

An Analysis of Semicircular Channel Backscattering Interferometry Through Ray Tracing Simulations
Mulkerns, N. M., Hoffmann, W. H., Lindsay, I. D. & Gersen, H., 6 Jun 2022, In: Sensors. 22, 11, 15 p., 4301.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review

Open Access
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52 Downloads (Pure)
Determining Nanorod Dimensions in Dispersion with Size Anisotropy Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis
Hoffmann, W. H., Gao, B., Mulkerns, N., Hinton, A. G., Hanna, S., Hall, S. R. & Gersen, H., 18 May 2022, In: Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics. 24, 21, p. 13040-13048 9 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review

Open Access
File
2 Citations (Scopus)

65 Downloads (Pure)
Shedding Light on Capillary-Based Backscattering Interferometry
Mulkerns, N., Hoffmann, W. H., Lindsay, I. D. & Gersen, H., 10 Mar 2022, In: Sensors. 22, 6, 13 p., 2157.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review

Open Access
File
4 Citations (Scopus)

56 Downloads (Pure)

Cite this

Mulkerns, N., Hoffmann, W. H., Ramos Soriano, F. J., de la Cruz, N., Garcia Millan, T., Harniman, R. L., Lindsay, I. D., Seddon, A. M., Galan, M. C., & Gersen, H. (2022). Measuring the Refractive Index and Sub-Nanometre Surface Functionalisation of Nanoparticles in Suspension. Nanoscale, 14(22), 8145-8152. https://doi.org/10.1039/D2NR00120A, https://doi.org/10.1039/d2nr00120a

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abstract = "Direct measurements to determine the degree of surface coverage of nanoparticles by functional moieties are rare, with current strategies requiring a high level of expertise and expensive equipment. Here, a practical method to determine the ratio of the volume of the functionalisation layer to the particle volume based on measuring the refractive index of nanoparticles in suspension is proposed. As a proof of concept, this technique is applied to poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) nanoparticles and semicrystalline carbon dots functionalised with different surface moieties, yielding refractive indices that are commensurate to those from previous literature and Mie theory. In doing so, it is demonstrated that this technique is able to optically detect differences in surface functionalisation or composition of nanometre-sized particles. This non-destructive and rapid method is well-suited for in situ industrial particle characterisation and biological applications. ",

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note = "Funding Information: The authors thank Adrian Crimp and his team at the Bristol Engineering Workshop for manufacturing mechanical components integral to this work. The authors also thank the Wolfson Bioimaging Facility for their support and assistance in this work. This work was funded in part by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council under grant number EP/L016648/1. N. M. C. M. and H. G. also acknowledge support by the National Productivity and Investment Fund co-funded by Carbometrics (EP/R51245/X). PeakForce Atomic Force Microscopy was conducted with equipment funded by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/K035746/1). The Ganesha X-ray scattering apparatus used for this research was purchased under EPSRC Grant “Atoms to Applications” (EP/K035746/1). This work also benefitted from the SasView software, originally developed by the DANSE project under NSF award DMR-0520547. J. R. S. acknowledges a MSCA fellowship (project 843720-BioNanoProbes). M. C. G. thanks the European Research Council (ERC-COG: 648239). M. C. G. and N. C. R. also acknowledge the support of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council under grant EP/S26215/1. T. G. M. acknowledges support from Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnolog{\'i}a (CONACyT). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022 The Royal Society of Chemistry",

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AU - Lindsay, Ian D

AU - Seddon, Annela M

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JO - Nanoscale

JF - Nanoscale

IS - 22

ER -

Measuring the Refractive Index and Sub-Nanometre Surface Functionalisation of Nanoparticles in Suspension

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Access to Document

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Research output

An Analysis of Semicircular Channel Backscattering Interferometry Through Ray Tracing Simulations

Determining Nanorod Dimensions in Dispersion with Size Anisotropy Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis

Shedding Light on Capillary-Based Backscattering Interferometry

Cite this