Particle deposition can be followed by various experimental techniques. Direct observation of deposited particles is possible with an optical microscope, scanning electron microscope, or the atomic force microscope. Optical microscopy has the advantage that the deposition of particles can be followed in real time by video techniques and the sequence of images can be analyzed quantitatively. On the other hand, the resolution of optical microscopy requires that the particle size investigated exceeds at least 100 nm.
An alternative is to use surface sensitive techniques to follow particle deposition, such as reflectivity, ellipsometry, surface plasmon resonance, or quartz crystal microbalance. These techniques can provide information on the amount of particles deposited as a function of time with good accuracy, but they do not permit to obtain information concerning the lateral arrangement of the particles.
Another approach to study particle deposition is to investigate their transport in a chromatographic column. The column is packed with large particles or with a porous medium to be investigated. Subsequently, the column is flushed with the solvent to be investigated, and the suspension of the small particles is injected at the column inlet. The particles are detected at the outlet with a standard chromatographic detector. When particles deposit in the porous medium, they will not arrive at the outlet, and from the observed difference the deposition rate coefficient can be inferred.