Abstract
A laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LA–ICP–MS) based method is proposed for the quantitative determination of the spatial distribution of metal nanoparticles (NPs) supported on planar substrates. The surface is sampled using tailored ablation patterns and the data are used to define three-dimensional functions describing the spatial distribution of NPs. The volume integrals of such interpolated surfaces are calibrated to obtain the mass distribution of Ag NPs by correlation with the total mass of metal as determined by metal extraction and ICP–MS analysis. Once this mass calibration is carried out on a sacrificial sample, quantifications can be performed over multiple samples by a simple micro-destructive LA–ICP–MS analysis without requiring the extraction/dissolution of metal NPs. The proposed approach is here tested using a model sample consisting of a low-density polyethylene (LDPE) disk decorated with silver NPs, achieving high spatial resolution over cm2-sized samples and very high sensitivity. The developed method is accordingly a useful analytical tool for applications requiring both the total mass and the spatial distribution of metal NPs to be determined without damaging the sample surface (e.g., composite functional materials and NPs, decorated catalysts or electrodic materials).
Highlights
The deposition of metal nanoparticles (NPs) on the surface of solid supports is an increasingly used strategy to produce functional materials for many applications including catalysis [1,2,3], sensing devices [4,5,6] and electronics [7,8]
LA–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometer (ICP–MS) has aroused great interest in the field of NPs, the quantitative determination of their spatial distribution on planar substrates is still a challenge never faced using this technique. In view of these considerations, we developed an LA–ICP–MS analytical protocol to generate a quantitative distribution map of metal NPs deposited over planar substrates, by selecting the proper sampling patterns and data elaboration
An LA–ICP–MS-based approach for the quantitative estimation of the spatial distribution of metal NPs deposited on solid supports was developed
Summary
The deposition of metal nanoparticles (NPs) on the surface of solid supports is an increasingly used strategy to produce functional materials for many applications including catalysis [1,2,3], sensing devices [4,5,6] and electronics [7,8]. The variety of metal deposition strategies leads to a great difference in the mass, size, geometry and spatial distribution of deposited NPs. the experimental conditions (pressure and temperature) and the nature of the substrate (its morphology and wettability) have a noticeable effect on NP deposition. Most of the above-mentioned strategies ideally lead to the homogeneous deposition of metal NPs [21], but physical sputtering and laser-induced direct deposition can generate non-homogeneous NP distributions [22,23], especially over large-sized supports. Variations in NPs’ spatial loading are often intentionally induced, as they can positively affect optical and electronic properties of the composite material and, its Chemosensors 2021, 9, 77.
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