Health & Environmental Research Online (HERO)


Print Feedback Export to File
2607233 
Journal Article 
Determination of the size, concentration, and refractive index of silica nanoparticles from turbidity spectra 
Khlebtsov, BN; Khanadeev, VA; Khlebtsov, NG 
2008 
1 
Langmuir
ISSN: 0743-7463
EISSN: 1520-5827 
24 
16 
8964-8970 
18590302 
WOS:000258377900087 
The size and concentration of silica cores determine the size and concentration of silica/gold nanoshells in final preparations. Until now, the concentration of silica/gold nanoshells with Stober's silica core has been evaluated through the material balance assumption. Here, we describe a method for simultaneous determination of the average size and concentration of silica nanospheres from turbidity spectra measured within the 400-600 nm spectral band. As the refractive index of silica nanoparticles is the key input parameter for optical determination of their concentration, we propose an optical method and provide experimental data on a direct determination of the refractive index of silica particles n = 1.475 +/- 0.005. Finally, we exemplify our method by determining the particle size and concentration for 10 samples and compare the results with transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFNI), and dynamic light scattering data.