Low-Pressure Plasma Process for Nanoparticle Coating

1. Low-Pressure Plasma Process for Nanoparticle Coating Investigators: FarzadMashayek, MIE/UIC; ThemisMatsoukas, ChE/Penn State Prime Grant Support: NSF Simulated flow of ions over a nanoparticle Nanoparticles of various materials are building blocks and important constituents of ceramics and metal composites, pharmaceutical and food products, energy related products such as solid fuels and batteries, and electronics related products. The ability to manipulate the surface properties of nanoparticles through deposition of one or more materials can greatly enhance their applicability. Nanolayer coating on a silica particle A low-pressure, non-equilibrium plasma process is developed using experimental and computational approaches. Two types of reactors are being considered. The first reactor operates in “batch” mode by trapping the nanoparticles in the plasma sheath. Agglomeration of the particles is prevented due to the negative charges on the particles. The second reactor is being designed to operate in a “continuous” mode where the rate of production may be significantly increased. This reactor will also provide a more uniform coating by keeping the nanoparticles outside the plasma sheath. • The batch reactor is already operational and has been used to demonstrate the possibility of coating nanoparticles. • A reaction model has been developed to predict the deposition rate on the nanoparticle surface. • The possibility of using an external magnetic field to control the trapping of the particles has been investigated computationally. • The experimental effort is now focused on the design of the “continuous” mode reactor. • The computational effort is focused on development of a comprehensive code for simulation of the plasma reactor, nanoparticle dynamics, and surface deposition.