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Determining the size distribution of core-shell spheres and other complex particles by laser diffraction
R R Lagasse1, D Wayne Richards
1Organic Materials Department, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM 87185-1411, USA. lagassebob@hotmail.com
Journal of Colloid and Interface Science
|October 14, 2003
Summary
Determining hollow glass sphere size distribution requires specialized optical models. New algorithms and Fortran code accurately analyze scattering data for core-shell particles, improving size accuracy for particles under 10 micrometers.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Optical Physics
- Particle Characterization
Background:
- Laser diffraction is a common method for determining particle size distribution.
- Commercial software often assumes homogeneous particles, which is unsuitable for hollow spheres.
- Accurate characterization of hollow glass spheres is crucial for various applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a computational method for determining the size distribution of hollow glass spheres using laser diffraction.
- To address the limitations of commercial software for analyzing core-shell particles.
- To compare size distribution results obtained from exact core-shell models versus homogeneous sphere approximations.
Main Methods:
- Development of custom Fortran code to compute light scattering from core-shell spherical particles.
- Analysis of angle-dependent scattering data using an exact core-shell optical model.
- Comparison of results with the homogeneous sphere approximation.
- Implementation of a new algorithm for size distribution determination based on the core-shell model.
Main Results:
- Scattering from hollow glass particles deviates from homogeneous sphere scattering below 10 micrometers in radius.
- Size distributions determined by the exact core-shell model differ significantly from those using the homogeneous sphere approximation for particles smaller than 10 micrometers.
- The new algorithm, implemented in Fortran and MatLab, provides accurate size distributions for core-shell particles.
Conclusions:
- The exact core-shell optical model is necessary for accurate size distribution analysis of hollow glass spheres, especially for smaller particles.
- The developed Fortran code and algorithm offer a more precise method for characterizing such particles compared to standard approaches.
- The methodology shows potential for determining the size distribution of other non-homogeneous particles, like cylindrical rods.