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Nanoparticles Synthesis by Air-Assisted Ultrasonic Spray Pyrolysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 March 2011

Shirley C. Tsai
Affiliation:
Department of Chemical Engineering, California State University, Long Beach, CA, U.S.A.
Yu L. Song
Affiliation:
Institute for Applied Science and Engineering Research, Academia Sinica, Taipei 115, Taiwan
C.Y. Chen
Affiliation:
Institute for Applied Science and Engineering Research, Academia Sinica, Taipei 115, Taiwan
T. Kuan Tseng
Affiliation:
Institute for Applied Science and Engineering Research, Academia Sinica, Taipei 115, Taiwan
Chen S. Tsai
Affiliation:
Institute for Applied Science and Engineering Research, Academia Sinica, Taipei 115, Taiwan
Hong M. Lin
Affiliation:
Department of Material Engineering, Tatung University, Taipei, Taiwan
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Abstract

This paper presents new findings regarding the effects of precursor drop size and concentration on product particle size and morphology in ultrasonic spray pyrolysis. Large precursor drops (diameter >30 μm) generated by ultrasonic atomization at 120kHz yielded particles with holes. Precursor drops 6-9 μm in diameter, generated by an ultrasonic nebulizer at 1.65MHz and 23.5W electric drive power, yielded uniform spherical particles 150nm in diameter under proper control of heating rate and precursor concentration. Moreover, air-assisted ultrasonic spray pyrolysis at 120kHz and 2.3W yielded spherical particles of which nearly half were smaller than those produced by the ultrasonic spray pyrolysis of the 6-9 μm precursor drops, despite the much larger precursor drop sizes (28 μm peak diameter versus 7 μm mean diameter). These particles are much smaller than those predicted by the conventional one particle per drop mechanism, suggesting that a vapor condensation mechanism may also be involved in spray pyrolysis. It may be concluded that through this new mechanism air-assisted ultrasonic spray pyrolysis can become a viable process for mass production of nanoparticles.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2002

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References

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