  During the mechano-fusion process for dry particle coating,
(hetero)-aggregates are formed consisting of host particles which are coated by
smaller guest particles. During this process, the latter are exposed to intense
particle-particle interactions and particle-wall impacts, which lead to
deformation of the guest particles original shape. These deformations on the
nano- and microscale can heavily influence the effective macroscopic properties
of the resutling coated particles. We present a method to quantify the shape
deformation of guest particles during mechano-fusion based on measurements
acquired by atomic force microscopy before and after mechano-fusion. To this
end, we reconstruct the 3D shape of guest particles by means of an ellipsoidal
fit, constrained by the known volume of the guest particles. Using these
reconstructed shapes, we can quantify the degree of deformation by comparing
the aspect ratios of the ellipsoidal fits before and after mechano-fusion. Such
a quantification enhances the understanding of how process-related parameters
influence the geometric descriptors of the involved particles, which in turn
impact the overall macroscopic properties of the material.
