Amount of substance

News and Updates

Sneezes, Rain Clouds and Ink Jets: NIST Improves the Ability of Optical Microscopes to Measure the Volume of Microdroplets

December 20, 2021

Sneezes, rain clouds, and ink jet printers: They all produce or contain liquid droplets so tiny it would take several billion of them to fill a liter bottle

Identifying Individual Molecules: NIST Study Suggests How to Build a Better ‘Nanopore’ Biosensor

April 27, 2021

Researchers have spent more than three decades developing and studying miniature biosensors that can identify single molecules. In five to 10 years, when such

After 90 Years, a Better Way to Measure the Composition of Paper

February 14, 2019

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), in collaboration with the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO), have developed a

Projects and Programs

Standards for Metagenomics

Ongoing

Metagenomics, or identifying the organisms present in a sample through DNA-based analysis, is a revolutionary technology made possible through advances in

Thermal Desorption Ambient Mass Spectrometry

Ongoing

Thermal desorption ambient mass spectrometry decouples analyte desorption and ionization. Here, analytes are thermally desorbed directly from a primary surface

Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry

Ongoing

Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) employs a pulsed primary ion beam and a time-of-flight mass analyzer for the detection of molecular

International Comparisons for Chemical Measurements

Ongoing

Because of NIST's role as the National Metrology Institute (NMI) in the U.S., the Chemical Sciences Division's measurement capabilities must be benchmarked

Publications

Major to Trace Element Imaging and Analysis of Iron Age Glasses Using Stage Scanning in The Analytical Dual Beam Microscope (Tandem)

June 16, 2022

Author(s)

Edward P. Vicenzi, Thomas Lam, Jamie Weaver, Andrew Herzing, John McCloy, Rolf Sjöblom, Carolyn Pearce

Dark and clear silicate glasses formed during an iron age vitrification event ≈ 1500 years ago at the Broborg hillfort near Uppsala, Sweden have been analyzed

Certification of NIST Gas Mixture Standard Reference Materials

February 10, 2022

Author(s)

Christina Cecelski, Kimberly Harris, Cassie Goodman, William A. Kimes, Philip Liu, Walter R. Miller Jr., Jennifer Carney

The Gas Sensing Metrology Group at NIST provides accurate, stable gaseous standards for use in various types of emissions testing and environmental monitoring

New reference materials for trace-levels of actinide elements in plutonium

January 27, 2022

Author(s)

Richard Essex, Lav Tandon, Amy Gaffney, Cole Hexel, Debbie Bostick, Lisa Colletti, Diana Decker, Casey Finstad, Joseph Giaquinito, Elmer Lujan, John Partridge, Benjamin Roach, John Rolinson, Kyle Samperton, Alice Slemmons, Khalil Spencer, Floyd Stanley, Lisa Townsend, Kerri Treinen, Ross Williams, Christopher Worley

Two plutonium oxides were prepared as unique reference materials for actinides occurring as trace constituents in Pu. Each reference material unit is

Adjustment to the Light Element Areal Concentration Calculation for Neutron Depth Profiles

November 17, 2021

Author(s)

Jamie Weaver, Anna Jobs

Tools and Instruments

Local Electrode Atom Probe Tomography (LEAP)

Field evaporates (with a voltage and laser pulse) a sharp tip-shaped specimen. Collects the ionization products in a position-sensitive, time-of-flight mass

Material Analysis Using Neutron Depth Profiling

Light elements such as helium, lithium, boron, and nitrogen are essential constituents in materials that enable energy technologies; lithium ion batteries