Analytical Sciences


Abstract − Analytical Sciences, 37(11), 1637 (2021).

Size Analysis of Small Metal Nanoparticles Using Single Particle ICP Mass Spectrometry
Shuji YAMASHITA, Masaki NAKAZATO, and Takafumi HIRATA
Geochemical Research Center, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
For size analysis of small nanoparticles (i.e., nanoparticles smaller than 10 nm) using spICP-MS, two approaches were employed to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of ion signals emanating from small nanoparticles. The first one was enhancement of the instrumental sensitivity using a desolvating system. The second approach was separation of the ion signals from background signals through a deconvolution method. A combination of these approaches enabled us to measure 5 nm gold nanoparticles, and the calculated size detection limit was 3.8 nm.