VAMAS TWA2 interlaboratory comparison: Surface analysis of TiO2 nanoparticles using ToF-SIMS

Due to the extremely high surface area of nanoparticles and corresponding potential for surface adsorption, the results of surface analysis can be highly dependent on the history of the particles, particularly regarding sample preparation and storage. The sample preparation method has therefore the potential to have a significant influence on the results. This report covers an inter-laboratory comparison (ILC) with the aim of assessing which sample preparation methods for ToF-SIMS analysis of nanoparticles provided the most intra- and interlaboratory consistency and least amount of sample contamination. The BAM reference material BAM-P110 (TiO2 nanoparticles with a diameter of 19 nm) was used as a sample representing typical nanoparticles. A total of 11 participants returned ToF-SIMS data, including in positive and negative polarity, using sample preparation methods of “stick-and-go”, as well as optionally “drop-dry” and “spincoat”. Results showed that the largest sources of variation within the entire data set were caused by adventitious hydrocarbon contamination or insufficient sample coverage, with the spin-coating protocol applied in this ILC showing a tendency towards insufficient sample coverage

BENNET Francesca;  OPTIZ Robert;  GHOREISCHI Narges;  PLATE Kristina;  BARNES Jean Paul;  BELLEW Allen;  BELU Anna;  CECCONE Giacomo;  DE VITO Eric;  DELCORTE Arnaud;  FRANQUET Alexis;  FUMAGALLI Francesco;  GILLILAND Douglas;  JUNGNICKEL Harald;  LEE Tae Geol;  POLEUNIS Claude;  RADING Derk;  SHON Hyun Kyong;  SPAMPINATO Valentina;  SON Jin Gyeong;  WANG Fuyi;  WANG Yung-Chen;  ZAO Yao;  ROLOFF Alexander;  TENTSCHERT Jutta;  RADNIK Jorg; 

2024-02-06

A V S AMER INST PHYSICS

JRC133750

0734-2101 (online),   

https://doi.org/10.1116/6.0002814,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC133750,   

10.1116/6.0002814 (online),