Shape and size of gold nanoparticles (NPs) in suspension have been determined by SAXS measurement.

Introduction

NPs are used even at very low concentration in many applications such as coatings, cosmetics or drug delivery. The performance of the final product depends not only on the chemical nature of the NPs but also on their shape, size and specific surface area. It is therefore essential to be able to control and quantify these key parameters.
Small Angle X-ray Scattering is a non destructive technique allowing material structure determination with very little sample preparation. It provides statistically relevant information over a large probed volume of sample. As such, it is an ideal complement to other imaging techniques which provide only localized information. This powerful technique provides structural characterization of nanoparticles with particle size from 1 to 250 nm.
SAXS measurements performed on a gold NPs suspension demonstrate the capability of the Xeuss 2.0 SAXS/WAXS system to provide consistent data for reliable modelisation.