posted on 2021-12-28, 20:03authored byNathan
D. Donahue, Sandy Kanapilly, Chady Stephan, M. Caleb Marlin, Emmy R. Francek, Majood Haddad, Joel Guthridge, Stefan Wilhelm
To
control a nanoparticle’s chemical composition and thus
function, researchers require readily accessible and economical characterization
methods that provide quantitative in situ analysis
of individual nanoparticles with high throughput. Here, we established
dual analyte single-particle inductively coupled plasma quadrupole
mass spectrometry to quantify the chemical composition and reaction
kinetics of individual colloidal nanoparticles. We determined the
individual bimetallic nanoparticle mass and chemical composition changes
during two different chemical reactions: (i) nanoparticle etching
and (ii) element deposition on nanoparticles at a rate of 300+ nanoparticles/min.
Our results revealed the heterogeneity of chemical reactions at the
single nanoparticle level. This proof-of-concept study serves as a
framework to quantitatively understand the dynamic changes of physicochemical
properties that individual nanoparticles undergo during chemical reactions
using a commonly available mass spectrometer. Such methods will broadly
empower and inform the synthesis and development of safer, more effective,
and more efficient nanotechnologies that use nanoparticles with defined
functions.