Review: Engineering Particles Using the Aerosol-Through-Plasma Method (original) (raw)

2009, IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science

For decades plasma processing of materials on the nano-scale has been an underlying enabling technology for many 'planar' technologies, particularly virtually every aspect of modem electronics from integrated circuit fabrication with nano-scale elements to the newest generation of photovoltaics. However, it is only recent developments that suggest plasma processing can be used to make 'particulate' structures of value in fields including catalysis, drug delivery, imaging, higher energy density batteries and other forms of energy storage. In this review the development of the science and technology of one class of plasma production of particulates, Aerosol-Through-Plasma (A-T-P) is reviewed. Various plasma systems, particularly RF and microwave, have been used create nanoparticles of metals and ceramics, as well as supported metal catalysts. Gradually the complexity of the nanoparticles, and concomitantly their potential value, has increased. First, unique two layer particles were generated. These were post processed to create unique three layer nano-scale particles. Also, the technique has been successfully employed to make other high value materials including carbon nanotubes, unsupported graphene, and spherical boron nitride. Some interesting plasma science has also emerged from efforts to characterize and map aerosol containing plasmas. For example, it is clear that even a very low concentration of particles dramatically changes plasma characteristics. Some have also argued that the local-thermodynamic-equilibrium approach is inappropriate to these systems. Instead, it has been suggested that charged species and neutral species models must be independently developed and allowed to 'interact' only in generation terms.