Our three main areas for the analysis of particles are

• Aerosols
• Liquid Suspensions 
• Laser Granlometry 

Particle Sizing in Aerosols

TSI 3080 Differential Mobility Analyser

The Differential Mobility Analyser (DMA) analyses an aerosol for particles and reports the density of particles and their size distribution for sizes varying in the range 2 nm to 10 µm.

If you have any queries about our differential mobility analyser, then please contact our expert Dr Paul Howes, pbh4@le.ac.uk, 0116 252 3584.

Particles Sizing in Liquid Suspensions (Hydrosols)

Malvern Zetasizer

The Malvern Zetasizer analyses a liquid and reports the density of particles and their size distribution for sizes varying in the range 0.6 nm to 10 µm by analysing their Brownian motion.

Nanosight LM10 nanoparticle sizer
The Nanosight LM10 also analyses liquids for nanoparticles using Brownian motion, but can only detect nanoparticles larger than about 20 nm. It does have some advantages however in that the operator can see the particles and their Brownian motion directly and can select which particles to analyse.

If you have any queries about our particle analysers, then please contact our expert Prof Chris Binns, cb12@le.ac.uk, 0116 252 3585.

Particle size analysis by laser granulometry

Coulter LS 230

The LS230 measures particle size distribution based on the scattering of laser light by the suspended particles. A sample placed in the fluid module is circulated through a sample cell at a constant speed. The beam of laser light shone through the cell is diffracted by particles, and the forward scattered  light is collected by a series of detectors. The distribution of light falling on the sensors enables the size distribution of the sample to be calculated.

This method enables the measurement of particles from 0.4 μm to 2000 μm (0.0004 mm to 2 mm). The technique is usually associated with logging particle size distributions through sediment sequences (e.g. cores or sections).

If you have any queries about our Coulter LS 230, then please contact our expert Dr Arnoud Boom, ab269@le.ac.uk, 0116 252 3832.