Düsseldorf 2007 – scientific programme

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P: Fachverband Plasmaphysik

P 15: Staubige Plasmen

P 15.2: Talk

Wednesday, March 21, 2007, 14:50–15:05, 6F

Preparation of Nanometer-Sized Hydrocarbonate Particles from Acetylene Plasmas — •Martin Schulze, Achim von Keudell, and Peter Awakowicz — Center for Plasma Science and Technology, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany

The generation of particulates with sizes in the range of some ten nanometers and below has gained great interest e.g. for manufacturering quantum dots, photoluminescent markers, and catalyst materials. These applications impose strict requirements on the quality of the particles like e.g. their size distribution, which often cannot be achieved in the production by conventional chemical methods. In contrast, the flexibility of plasma tools allows the precisely controlled preparation of nanoparticles for a variety of material systems. E.g. 2 nm silicon particles can be synthesized from silane on a routine basis.

On the other hand, the preperation of hydrocarbonate particles in that size range is still under investigation. This contribution will concentrate on the growth dynamics of nanometer-sized hydrocarbonate particles in acetylene discharges. The physical model of particle nucleation in acetylene plasmas will be demonstrated on the basis of experimental results from a GEC-like cell and the influence of external parameters on the performance of the system will be discussed. For the separation of the particles from the plasma, a novel concept will be introduced to extract particles from the running discharge by means of electric fields with the option of energetic deposition. Finally, methods for the controlled production of particles of predetermined size will be presented.