We present a brief overview of using the effective refractive index of colloidal suspensions for characterizing nanoparticles. We focus our analysis on the so-called nanofluids consisting of nanoparticles suspended in a homogenous liquid matrix. Particular attention is paid to the role of the real part of the effective refractive index on sizing the nanoparticles. We then discuss possible ways to measure the real part of the effective refractive index of nanofluids and precautions needed.

Date Published: 27 August 2014
PDF: 7 pages
Proc. SPIE 9173, Instrumentation, Metrology, and Standards for Nanomanufacturing, Optics, and Semiconductors VIII, 91730C (27 August 2014); doi: 10.1117/12.2064153

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9173:
Instrumentation, Metrology, and Standards for Nanomanufacturing, Optics, and Semiconductors VIII
Michael T. Postek, Editor(s)