Characterisation
Definition
Establishing what a sample actually is — size, shape, composition, structure — rather than what it was intended to be.
The stage where most claimed nanomaterials turn out to be something else: a wider size distribution than reported, an unintended oxide shell, or an effect that was an artefact of the instrument. A synthesis without characterisation is a hypothesis.
Where this comes up
Articles that define characterisation in context.
