An optical technique for tracking single particles has been used to evaluate the particle diameter at which diffusion transitions from molecular behaviour described by the fractional Stokes-Einstein relationship to particle behaviour described by the classical Stokes-Einstein relationship. The results confirm a prior prediction from molecular dynamic simulations that there is a particle size at which transition occurs and show it is inversely dependent on concentration and viscosity but independent of particle density. For concentrations in the range 5 × 10-3 to 5 × 10-6 mg ml-1 and viscosities from 0.8 to 150 mPa s, the transition was found to occur in the diameter range 150-300 nm.
Keywords: Stokes–Einstein diffusion; diffusion; fractional Stokes–Einstein equation; nanoparticles; single nanoparticle tracking.