Traceable size determination of PMMA nanoparticles based on Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS)

The size and size distribution of PMMA nanoparticles has been investigated with SAXS (small angle X-ray scattering) using monochromatized synchrotron radiation. The uncertainty has contributions from the wavelength or photon energy of the radiation, the scattering angle and the fit procedure for the obtained scattering curves. The wavelength can be traced back to the lattice constant of silicon, and the scattering angle is traceable via geometric measurements of the detector pixel size and the distance between the sample and the detector. SAXS measurements and data evaluations have been performed at different distances and photon energies for two PMMA nanoparticle suspensions with low polydispersity and nominal diameters of 108 nm and 192 nm, respectively, as well as for a mixture of both. The relative variation of the diameters obtained for different experimental conditions was below ± 0.3 %. The determined number-weighted mean diameters of (109.0 ± 0.7) nm and (188.0 ± 1.3) nm, respectively, are close to the nominal values.