TITLE:
On Some Applications of Nanoparticles Synthesized in the Gas Phase by Magnetron Discharges
AUTHORS:
Virginie Bouchat, N. Moreau, J.-F. Colomer, S. Lucas
KEYWORDS:
Nanoparticles; PVD; Plasma; Nanocluster; Vapour Phase
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Surface Engineered Materials and Advanced Technology,
Vol.3 No.3,
July
10,
2013
ABSTRACT: For the
seventies, scientists focused their researches to find techniques to produce
high quality films. One of the ideas, for example, was to generate an ionized
cluster beam (ICB) formed by inert gas condensation (IGC) from evaporation of
material. This method generates non-agglomerated nanoparticles to be deposited
onto any substrate. However, the synthesis of spherical and well-dispersed
nanoparticles remains, today, a major technological issue. Several trials have
been performed with magnetron sputtering that has the
advantage of producing very pure atomic vapour from a wide variety of solid
materials or composites, and therefore in this configuration offers the
possibility to synthesize nanoparticles in a gaz phase with potential numerous
applications. In this paper, we describe several results of our
laboratory and we show how it is possible to synthesize non-agglomerated
nanoparticles with a narrow size distribution in the nm range. Detailed
examples of Ag, TiO2, Au, Y, C, Co and Fe are given. We illustrate
their current use in applications including catalyst to produce aligned
Multi-Wall Carbon Nanotubes, seeding layer to promote anatase TiO2 crystallisation for photocatalytic material, superhydrophobic material and
nanoparticle for nanomedecine.