Overview
CEN ISO/TS 23302:2022 (ISO/TS 23302:2021) is a technical specification for nanotechnologies that defines requirements and recommendations for identifying measurands used to characterize nano‑objects, their agglomerates/aggregates, and materials that contain them. It provides a structured procedure to select measurands and gives measurement recommendations across different sample states (aerosols, powders, liquid dispersions, surfaces) to support consistent characterization and assessment of performance‑relevant properties.
Key topics and technical requirements
- Measurand identification procedure: a systematic approach to decide which measurands are needed for a given nano‑object/material and purpose (e.g., sizing, surface chemistry, state).
- Types of measurands: metrics related to size and shape, surface chemistry, agglomeration/aggregation state, and other properties that affect material performance.
- State‑specific guidance: recommended measurands and measurement approaches tailored to sample forms:
- Aerosols: techniques and considerations for airborne nano‑objects (e.g., cascade impactors, differential mobility analyzers, optical counters, aerodynamic sizing).
- Powders: particle sizing and morphology approaches (e.g., laser diffraction, BET gas adsorption, electron microscopy).
- Liquid dispersions: sizing and fractionation methods (e.g., dynamic light scattering, centrifugal sedimentation, field flow fractionation, particle tracking, single‑particle ICP‑MS).
- Surfaces: microscopy and topography techniques (e.g., scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM)).
- Chemical and surface analysis: measurands for elemental and surface chemistry assessment (e.g., X‑ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, Auger/ESCA methods referenced).
- Reference to relevant measurement standards: the document points to established measurement standards and best practices for each technique to support reproducibility and comparability.