Abstract
In the present study, the use of a scanning probe microscope is described for monitoring the sizes of nanoparticles. Monitoring is the process of acquiring and analysing the set of overlapping images. The main analysis steps are image segmentation, determination of nanoparticles allocation and their sizes, determination of the overlap of images with one another, and exclusion of repeating measurements for the formation of the correct particle-size sampling. The thorough examination of commercial scanning probe microscopes, software, and image processing libraries showed that their capabilities are limited for image segmentation and determination of sizes in complex structured images. A method based on the surface curvature computation is proposed for the image segmentation (allocation of particles) and determination of particle sizes. The curvature is estimated using the surface area approximation with respect to the circumference. It is proposed to use sample displacement sensors as an aid for image stitching.
Highlights
The physical and chemical properties of nanoparticles are mainly determined by their sizes
The electrochemical deposition of fullerene-containing powders on Highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) was performed from a fullerene solution in paraxylene with sodium metal at the voltage of 100–150 V and galvanic current of 10–30 μA
HOPG was preliminarily subjected to mechanical cleaning using scotch tape.The cooper particles dissolved in polystyrene were deposited on the plate surface by the spin-coating method
Summary
The physical and chemical properties of nanoparticles are mainly determined by their sizes. Size monitoring is an important component of the process of nanoparticles production [1,2]. The monitoring is the formation of the particle-size sampling followed by the analysis of the particle-size distribution. For the data acquisition and formation of the particle-size distribution such methods as laser diffraction [3,4], dynamic light scattering [5,6] and acoustic spectroscopy [7,8] are more widely used. The methods are mainly suitable for controlling particles in solutions The disadvantage of these methods is measurement results distortion, which can occur with a significant difference in the particles size present in the solution
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