Effective size and zeta potential of nanorods by Ferguson analysis.

The effective hydrodynamic size and free mobility of particles of varying aspect ratio were evaluated by Ferguson analysis of gel electrophoresis. The ligand layer thickness was estimated from the difference between the effective size and the size of the metal core from TEM imaging. The zeta potential of the particles was calculated from the Ferguson analysis result by applying conventional electrophoresis theories for spheres and cylinders. The results show that Henry's solution for spherical particles can be used to obtain the zeta potential of cylindrical particles without requiring the use of TEM for size analysis.