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Synthesis and oxidation stability of monosized and monocrystalline Pr nanoparticles

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Abstract

This study reports the synthesis of monosized Pr nanoparticles with a controllable size ranging from 5 to 20 nm. Pr agglomerates generated by a spark generator, first sizeselected by a differential mobility analyzer and subsequently sintered in-flight at different temperatures result in spherical and monocrystalline Pr nanoparticles. The dependence of size and size distribution of Pr nanoparticles has been studied as a function of deposition parameters related to spark generator, differential mobility analyzer, and sintering. Transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive x-ray analysis, glancing angle x-ray diffraction, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies confirm that initial Pr agglomerates and the resulting nanoparticles are metallic with d-hexagonal structure and remain stable in air during post-deposition exposure. Incomplete or partially sintered nanoparticles were found to be oxidized, resulting in the formation of amorphous oxide phase due to enhanced oxidation at grain boundaries.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Thin Film Laboratory, Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, 110016, India

    Shubhra Kala, Bodh Raj Mehta & Vidya Nand Singh

  2. Institute for Technology of Nanostructures, University of Duisburg-Essen, 47057, Duisburg, Germany

    Frank Einar Kruis

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  1. Shubhra Kala
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  2. Bodh Raj Mehta
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  3. Frank Einar Kruis
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Correspondence to Bodh Raj Mehta.

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Kala, S., Raj Mehta, B., Kruis, F.E. et al. Synthesis and oxidation stability of monosized and monocrystalline Pr nanoparticles. Journal of Materials Research 24, 2276–2285 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2009.0281

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