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Probing the dynamics of nanoparticle growth in a flame using synchrotron radiation

Nature Materials volume 3, pages 370–373 (2004)Cite this article

Abstract

Flame synthesis is one of the most versatile and promising technologies for large-scale production of nanoscale materials1,2,3. Pyrolysis has recently been shown to be a useful route for the production of single-walled nanotubes4, quantum dots5 and a wide variety of nanostructured ceramic oxides for catalysis6 and electrochemical applications7. An understanding of the mechanisms of nanostructural growth in flames has been hampered by a lack of direct observations of particle growth8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21, owing to high temperatures (2,000 K), rapid kinetics (submillisecond scale), dilute growth conditions (10−6 volume fraction) and optical emission of synthetic flames. Here we report the first successful in situ study of nanoparticle growth in a flame using synchrotron X-ray scattering. The results indicate that simple growth models, first derived for colloidal synthesis22, can be used to facilitate our understanding of flame synthesis. Further, the results indicate the feasibility of studies of nanometre-scale aerosols of toxicological23 and environmental24 concern.

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Figure 1: Experimental set-up.
Figure 2: Corrected, axial, scattering curves as a function of height above the burner.
Figure 3: 2D plots of concentration.
Figure 4: Axial properties of flame.
Figure 5: 2D plots of nanoparticle growth.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the US National Science Foundation (CTS-0070214), the Swiss National Science Foundation (200021-101901/1), the Swiss Commission for Technology and Innovation (TopNano21-5487.1) and the synchrotron facilities at ESRF (beam time allocation ME421). We thank J. Gorini for technical assistance; we also thank D. J. Kohls (at the University of Cincinnati), and J. Ilavsky and P. Jemian (at UNICAT, Advanced Photon Source) for collaborative work. G.B. thanks the University of Cincinnati for sabbatical leave at ETH Zentrum.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, 45221-0012, Ohio, USA

    Gregory Beaucage & Nikhil Agashe

  2. Institut für Verfahrenstechnik, ETH Zentrum ML F26, Zürich, CH-8092, Switzerland

    Hendrik K. Kammler, Roger Mueller, Reto Strobel & Sotiris E. Pratsinis

  3. ESRF, Grenoble, F-38043, France

    Theyencheri Narayanan

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  1. Gregory Beaucage
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Correspondence to Gregory Beaucage.

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Beaucage, G., Kammler, H., Mueller, R. et al. Probing the dynamics of nanoparticle growth in a flame using synchrotron radiation. Nature Mater 3, 370–373 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat1135

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