Electrophoretic Light Scattering

Introduction

ELS is a light scattering technology utilized to measure the zeta potential of particles suspended in solution via Doppler shifts in scattered light. When applying an electric field to the sample, the charged particles dispersed in the suspension undergo electrophoretic movement. Due to the Doppler effect, the scattered light experiences a frequency shift compared to the incident light. The magnitude of this shift depends on the particles’ electrophoretic velocity. A detector set up in the forward direction detects the scattering signal by which the frequency shift Δf and the electrophoretic mobility are obtained. Through Henry's equation, the zeta potential and its distribution can be obtained based on the obtained electrophoretic mobility.