A reproducible number-based sizing method for pigment-grade titanium dioxide.

A strong demand for reliable characterization methods of particulate materials is triggered by the prospect of forthcoming national and international regulations concerning the classification of nanomaterials. Scientific efforts towards standardized number-based sizing methods have so far been concentrated on model systems, such as spherical gold or silica nanoparticles. However, for industrial particulate materials, which are typically targets of regulatory efforts, characterisation is in most cases complicated by irregular particle shapes, broad size distributions and a strong tendency to agglomeration.