1 research outputs found
Quantifying Nanoparticle Layer Topography: Theoretical Modeling and Atomic Force Microscopy Investigations
A comprehensive method
consisting of theoretical modeling and experimental
atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements was developed for the quantitative
analysis of nanoparticle layer topography. Analytical results were
derived for particles of various shapes such as cylinders (rods),
disks, ellipsoids, hemispheres (caps), etc. It was shown that for
all particles, their root-mean-square (rms) parameter
exhibited a maximum at the coverage about 0.5, whereas the skewness
was a monotonically decreasing function of the coverage. This enabled
a facile determination of the particle coverage in the layer, even
if the shape and size were not known. The validity of the analytical
results was confirmed by computer modeling and experimental data acquired
by AFM measurements for polymer nanoparticle deposition on mica and
silica. The topographical analysis developed in this work can be exploited
for a quantitative characterization of self-assembled layers of nano-
and bioparticles, e.g., carbon nanotubes, silica and noble metal particles,
DNA fragments, proteins, vesicles, viruses, and bacteria at solid
surfaces. The acquired results also enabled a proper calibration,
in particular the determination of the measurement precision, of various
electron and scanning probe microscopies, such as AFM