Sulfur-free Surfactant for Carbide Nanoparticle Characterization in Steel Using Asymmetric Flow Field-Flow Fractionation Hyphenated Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

An asymmetric flow field-flow fractionation (AF4) combined with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was applied to measure the concentration and size distribution of nanometer-sized carbides in steel sheets, such as titanium carbides (TiC) and vanadium carbides (VC). Prior to AF4-ICP-MS measurement, TiC and VC nanoparticles in steel were extracted into a solution via selective potentio-static etching by electrolytic dissolution (SPEED) method. The SPEED method enabled the selective dissolution of iron and the carbide nanoparticles were dispersed as primary particles in solution with surfactant. However, sulfur-free surfactant was required in AF4-ICP-MS carrier solutions because sulfur in SDS, generally used to disperse various nanoparticles, causes a spectral interference with titanium and vanadium in ICP-MS analysis. In this study, sulfur-free sodium cholate (SC) was applied as the dispersant of carbide nanoparticles for the SPEED method and AF4 measurements. SC provides a high absolute value of zeta potential on a particle surface and membrane of an AF4 separation channel to prevent particle adsorption on the membrane. Additionally, SC does not generate the spectral interference due to sulfur, in contrast to SDS. Thus, it enabled the sensitive detection of titanium and vanadium in carbide nanoparticles extracted from a steel sheet in AF4-ICP-MS. These results indicate that sulfur-free surfactants are useful for analyzing some precipitates in steels using AF4-ICP-MS.

Quantification of Nanoparticles <i>via</i> Flow Injection Analysis Using Asymmetric Flow Field-flow Fractionation (AF4)

“…Meanwhile, asymmetric flow field-flow fractionation (AF4), which is a size-based separation technique, was used to analyze various nanoparticles [6][7][8] and steels. [9][10][11] AF4 does not require chromatographic support and can achieve size-dependent separation. In addition, AF4 can be combined with various detectors, such as light-scattering, ultraviolet absorption, and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to obtain information on the separated samples.…”

Multifunctional Properties of Commercial Bile Salts for Advanced Materials Engineering

“…[58] It has been demonstrated that sodium cholate is an efficient dispersant for hexagonal BN, [59] TiC, and VC particles. [60] Sodium deoxycholate was used as a stabilizer of luminescent silicon nanocrystals in colloidal suspensions for biomedical imaging and therapeutic applications. [61] The application of BAs/BSs for the synthesis, surface modification, and dispersion of oxides, hydroxides, and other inorganic materials represents an important innovation in nanotechnology, which paves the way for the fabrication of various organicinorganic nanocomposites with advanced functionality.…”

“…[ 58 ] It has been demonstrated that sodium cholate is an efficient dispersant for hexagonal BN, [ 59 ] TiC, and VC particles. [ 60 ] Sodium deoxycholate was used as a stabilizer of luminescent silicon nanocrystals in colloidal suspensions for biomedical imaging and therapeutic applications. [ 61 ]…”

Atomic spectrometry update: review of advances in the analysis of metals, chemicals and materials

“…An asymmetric flow field flow fractionation combination with ICP-MS (AF4-ICP-MS) was used by Itabashi et al to measure the concentration and size distribution of nanometer-sized particles of titanium and vanadium carbides in sheet steel . 26 Often, a sulfur-based dispersant is used during AF4 separations. However, the presence of sulfur will lead to polyatomic interferences on the Ti and V isotopes.…”