Particle size measurement at higher temperatures

A new option for Malvern's Zetasizer Nano particle characterization systems now enables users to measure particle size at temperatures of up to 120 deg C.

A new option for Malvern's Zetasizer Nano particle characterization systems now enables users to measure particle size at temperatures of up to 120 deg C, extending the range from the standard 90 deg C.

This option is available for all new Zetasizer Nano systems whose specifications include size measurement, and a factory upgrade can be applied to existing systems.

Measurements at high temperatures are especially applicable to the polymer, printing ink and toner industries.

Measuring the size of a polymer dispersion at close to the melting point of the polymer can provide important information about phase, shape or conformation changes.

This can be used in research for characterizing the polymer dispersion and designing manufacturing processes for polymers with melting points above 90 deg C.

In the printing industry, pigments can be formulated in a wax base with a melting point of 110 deg C.

Particle size analysis using dynamic light scattering requires that the sample be a liquid, so the system must have the capability of measuring at temperatures above this melting point.

For liquid toners, measurement at high temperatures is desirable to both reduce the viscosity of the toner - as it improves the measurement, which relies on the diffusion of particles undergoing Brownian motion - and also to mimic the high temperatures to which toners are subjected when stored in a printer.

There are no special measurement requirements or external hardware associated with the new high temperature option, and all other specifications of the standard Zetasizer Nano system remain unchanged.

Temperature equilibration is fast, thanks to a highly insulated low thermal mass cell compartment, and temperature ramps can be automated from 2 to 120 deg C.

The Malvern Zetasizer Nano series uses patented technologies to deliver particle size measurement in the range 0.6 to 6000 nm and measure the zeta potential of particles from 5 nm to 10 mm in diameter.

It has the sensitivity required for the measurement of highly dilute proteins and polymers as well as the ability to analyze emulsions at high concentrations.

All measurement routines are highly automated and an optional unit, the MPT-2 autotitrator is available to simplify the systematic study of size and zeta potential as a function of variables such as pH, conductivity or additive concentration.

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