Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Vol.181, No.2, 669-672, 1996
Determination of the Particle-Size Distribution of Latex Using a Combination of Elastic Light-Scattering and Turbidimetry - A Simulation Study
Turbidimetry at several wavelengths and elastic light scattering (ELS) at several angles can be used to determine particle size distributions (PSDs) of suspended particles using Mie scattering theory. The limited range of measurement in reciprocal space and the measurement noise always cause both techniques to have their own limitations. In this work, a way to combine turbidimetry and ELS data to be processed together is proposed. In order to investigate the convenience of simultaneous versus individual processing, a set of computationally generated experiments performed on suspensions of polystyrene particles is analyzed. The results clearly show that when the data are jointly processed the quality of the PSDs obtained is highly superior, This fact can be explained by the complementary characteristics of both techniques. Turbidimetry is more accurate at larger sizes, whereas ELS gives more precise estimations at smaller sizes. This work shows that simultaneous processing of experimental data from different sources seems to be a valid alternative for improving the quality of indirect measurements.