Abstract
This paper describes the effects of particle size and its distribution on size measurements by means of interactive force apparatus. The apparatus was proposed for particle size measurement in our research group. The advantage of this apparatus is that size measurement using the apparatus is a direct measurement, not depending on the concentration and optical transparency of the solution. Moreover, the measurement can be conducted in both the aqueous solution and organic solvent. Other common apparatuses for size measurements using laser source (i.e., the dynamic light scattering and laser diffraction) are difficult to measure the size of particles in the solution of high particle concentration and/or low transparency accurately, due to multi-scattering of light in the sample solution or solvent. However, the appropriate experimental conditions for particle size measurement using the interactive force apparatus have not been fully determined. In the present study, (a) appropriate particle size range and (b) particle size distribution were determined by calculating (a) the forces acting on fine particles and (b) the potential energies of a cluster under the electric field.
