Lester E., Blood P., Li J., Poliakoff M.
University of Nottingham, UK
Keywords: hydrothermal synthesis, nozzle, reactor design, supercritical water
Supercritical Water Hydrothermal Synthesis (scWHS) is a relatively simple and environmentally friendly process for the production of potentially valuable metal oxide nanoparticles. This paper presents the conclusions of collaborative work between chemical engineers and chemists that attempts to optimise the reaction engineering involved in this process, with the goal of reducing or even eliminating the fundamental process flaw of blocking inside the reactor during continuous operation.
The reactor design is now patented and has been shown to be capable of producing a wide variety of nano metals/metal oxides and mixed metal alloys; including TiO2, CeO2, Silver, CuO, YAG, InO2, CdS and ZrO2. Operating conditions, such as temperature, metal salt concentration and flow rate have all been shown to control particle characteristics.
Recent work has been focussed on the addition of capping agents during particle production.
Journal: TechConnect Briefs
Volume: Technical Proceedings of the 2007 Clean Technology Conference and Trade Show
Published: May 20, 2007
Pages: 251 - 254
Industry sector: Advanced Materials & Manufacturing
Topic: Nanoparticle Synthesis & Applications
ISBN: 1-4200-6382-0