title: Get more out of your data: a new approach to agglomeration and aggregation studies using nanoparticle impact experiments.
abstract: Anodic particle coloumetry is used to size silver nanoparticles impacting a carbon microelectrode in a potassium chloride/citrate solution. Besides their size, their agglomeration state in solution is also investigated solely by electrochemical means and subsequent data analysis. Validation of this new approach to nanoparticle agglomeration studies is performed by comparison with the results of a commercially available nanoparticle tracking analysis system, which shows excellent agreement. Moreover, it is demonstrated that the electrochemical technique has the advantage of directly yielding the number of atoms per impacting nanoparticle irrespective of its shape. This is not true for the optical nanoparticle tracking system, which requires a correction for the nonspherical shape of agglomerated nanoparticles to derive reasonable information on the agglomeration state.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Physical & Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Oxford University South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QZ (United Kingdom) E-mail: kristina.tschulik@chem.ox.ac.uk richard.compton@chem.ox.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ellison
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Physical & Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Oxford University South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QZ (United Kingdom) E-mail: kristina.tschulik@chem.ox.ac.uk richard.compton@chem.ox.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Kristina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tschulik
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Physical & Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Oxford University South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QZ (United Kingdom) E-mail: kristina.tschulik@chem.ox.ac.uk richard.compton@chem.ox.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Emma J E
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Stuart
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials, Oxford University, Begbroke Science Park Sandy Lane, Yarnton OX5 1PF (United Kingdom).
authors.forename: Kerstin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jurkschat
authors.affiliation: Center for Marine and Environmental Research, Ruđer Bošković Institute POB 180, 10001 Zagreb (Croatia).
authors.forename: Dario
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Omanović
authors.affiliation: IFW Dresden, Institute for Complex Materials P.O. Box 270016, 01171 Dresden (Germany).
authors.forename: Margitta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Uhlemann
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials, Oxford University, Begbroke Science Park Sandy Lane, Yarnton OX5 1PF (United Kingdom).
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Crossley
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Physical & Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Oxford University South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QZ (United Kingdom) E-mail: kristina.tschulik@chem.ox.ac.uk richard.compton@chem.ox.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Richard G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Compton
keywords: agglomeration and aggregation states; anodic particle coloumetry; electrochemistry; nanoparticle impact experiments; nanoparticle tracking analysis