Chen Shengli¹， Zhu Xiuqin²

1.College of Chemical Engineering and Environment， China University of Petroleum （Beijing）， Beijing 102249， China； 2.Beijing Nanwei Standard Materials Co.， Ltd.， Beijing 102200， China

Abstract

Objective China still lacks broad-distribution particle size reference materials （PSRMs） that provide Dv（1） to Dv（99） values for evaluating the measurement performance of laser particle size analyzers. This study aims to develop unimodal broad-distribution PSRMs and use them to evaluate the performance of current laser particle size analyzers.

Methods First， eleven narrow-distribution glass microbead PSRMs with particle sizes ranging from 20 µm to 150 µm were prepared using spray forming and sieving methods， and their reference material numbers were QBW12004， QBW12005， …， and QBW12015， respectively. Subsequently， broad‑distribution reference materials with quasi‑normal and quasi‑uniform distributions were obtained by mixing the narrow‑distribution materials at appropriate ratios， and their reference material numbers were QBW12030 and QBW12031， respectively. The narrow‑distribution PSRMs were certified using an optical microscope calibrated with the NIST SRM 2800 stage micrometer， and the certified values were traceable to the He–Ne laser wavelength. The particle size values of the broad‑distribution reference materials were calculated and certified based on the certified values of the narrow‑distribution samples and their mixing ratios. Using the developed reference materials， the performance of commercially available laser particle size analyzers in the Chinese market was evaluated and analyzed.

Results and Discussions The developed narrow‑distribution glass microbead PSRMs provided mean particle size values （Dv（50） and D（4，3））. The two broad‑distribution reference materials provided continuous distribution values （Dv（1） to Dv（99））. All current brands of laser particle size analyzers could measure the Dv（50） of narrow‑distribution samples relatively accurately， with errors within 2% for the vast majority of instrument models. However， the errors in measuring broad‑distribution reference materials were significantly larger than those for narrow‑distribution materials， and the error for the quasi‑uniform distribution sample （QBW12031） was markedly larger than that for the quasi‑normal distribution sample （QBW12030）. In practice， current laser particle size analyzers could not accurately measure the uniform‑distribution sample； instead， they measured it as a normal distribution. When measuring broad‑distribution samples， the errors for data points in the middle of the distribution were relatively small， whereas those for data points at the two ends of the distribution were considerably larger， especially for Dv（1）， Dv（2.5）， Dv（97.5）， and Dv（99）. The measurement errors for the coarse‑end data （Dv（97.5） and Dv（99）） were even greater than those for the fine‑end data （Dv（1） and Dv（2.5））. The accuracy of measuring broad‑distribution reference materials varied considerably among different brands of laser particle size analyzers. For the foreseeable future， measuring Dv（1）， Dv（2.5）， Dv（97.5）， and Dv（99） in broad‑distribution samples （especially non‑normal distribution samples） using laser particle size analyzers would remain a challenge.

Conclusions Eleven narrow‑distribution glass microbead PSRMs with sizes ranging from 20 µm to 150 µm， as well as two broad‑distribution reference materials， are successfully developed. The broad‑distribution reference materials fill the gap in China’s continuous broad‑distribution particle size reference materials. All current brands of laser particle size analyzers can measure the Dv（50） of narrow‑distribution samples relatively accurately， while the errors in measuring broad‑distribution materials are significantly larger than those for narrow‑distribution materials. The measurement error of a laser particle size analyzer depends not only on the performance of the instrument itself but also on the width and type of the particle size distribution of the sample. Current technical standards for laser particle size analyzers （ISO 13320：2020 and GB/T 19077‑2024） specify requirements for instrument measurement errors， but they do not specify requirements for the width and type of the sample particle size distribution. This is an aspect that needs to be improved in future revisions of the standards. As laser particle size analyzer technology advances， future standards will gradually incorporate measurement error requirements for more data points at both extremes of the distribution （e.g.， Dv（5） and Dv（95）， and even Dv（1） and Dv（99））.

Keywords： particle size reference material； broad-distribution particle systems； glass microbeads； laser particle size analyzer

Get Citation:Chen Shengli， Zhu Xiuqin. Development of glass microbead particle size distribution reference materials and their application in performance evaluation of laser particle size analyzers［J］. China Powder Science and Technology， 2026， 32（5）： 1-13.

Received：2026-05-03， Revised： 2026-08-24，Online： 2026-08-30。

Funding： The research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 22472201).

CLC No.：TB44； TQ577.7

Type Code：A

Serial No.：1008-5548（2026）05-0001-13