In addition to particle size, particle shape can also have a significant impact upon the performance and process handling of many particulate materials.
Malvern Panalytical’s image analysis range of particle characterization systems measure particle shape for both wet and dry dispersed samples from 0.5 microns up to several millimeters. Applications where particle shape measurements can be used to improve product performance include;
• Bioavailability of drug particles in tablets and suspensions
• Material strength in metal and ceramic sintered components
• Printing quality of toners and solder pastes
• Packing behavior of chromatography columns
• Quality of finish in mineral based coatings
• Cutting performance of SiC abrasives for solar panel manufacture.
Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements can be used to investigate the shape of nano-sized particles and to determine the (low-resolution) envelope shape of biological macromolecules.