New method for determination of surface potential of microscopic particles by second harmonic generation

The Journal of Physical Chemistry B

Elsa C. Y. Yan, Yan Liu, and Kenneth B. Eisenthal

A new noninvasive method for determining the surface electrostatic potential and surface charge density of microscopic particles using second harmonic generation (SHG) is described. The surface electrostatic properties of 1.05 μm polystyrene sulfate spheres in aqueous solution and that of 0.22 μm oil droplets in aqueous emulsions are obtained. Comparisons of the surface potentials obtained from SHG with the zeta potential obtained from electrophoresis are in excellent agreement with theoretical predictions.