Showing posts with label nano particles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nano particles. Show all posts

Thursday, December 10, 2020

[PALD] SUMMIT Video Library is now available on demand - Enjoy!

The 2nd [PALD] Summit by Forge Nano is now happening. This is following the first very successful event earlier in 200 and Forge Nano is planning yet a 3rd event i summer 2021. More information will come in the near future.

Anyhow, the [PALD] SUMMIT Video Library is now available on demand - Enjoy!

------ [PALD] SUMMIT on Demand LINK ------

Presentation by BALD Engineering during the first [PALD] Summit


Horizontal high temperature rotating graphite drum furnace for ALD and LPCVD on particles and powders BALD Engineering AB: Jonas Sundqvist




Tuesday, November 17, 2020

Forge Nano and Argonne improve yield in propylene manufacturing by ALD coating

Propylene, a precursor for commodity chemicals and plastics, is produced by propane dehydrogenation (PDH). In a PDH process, propane is selectively dehydrogenated to propylene. Production capacity via PDH is slated to grow rapidly over the next several years. The single feed/single product feature is one of the most attractive aspects of PDH, especially for propylene derivative producers looking to back-integrate for a secure and cost-effective source of propylene (IHS Markit Report LINK). 

Despite its simple chemistry, industrial implementation of PDH is very complicated owing to side reactions such as: 
  • deep dehydrogenation
  • hydrogenolysis
  • cracking
  • polymerization
  • coke formation.
According to a recent publication by Forge Nano and Argonne National Lab, an increase in PDH yield via added catalyst activity, lifetime, or selectivity represents significant energy and economic savings. 

The researchers has demonstrated that by using Pt dispersed on Al2O3 extrudate supports as a commercially relevant model system and by using atomic layer deposition (ALD) metal oxide overcoats, the metal-active sites can be tailored to increase PDH yield and selectivity. 

In the study they investigate the interplay of Pt loading, ALD overcoat thickness, and Al2O3 support surface area on PDH activity, selectivity, and catalyst stability. 

They were able to show that applying a 6–8 Å thick layer of Al2O3 on low-surface area Al2O3 supports of ∼90 m2/g surface area yields the optimal combination of stability and activity, while increasing propylene selectivity from 91 to 96%. Please find further details in the paper linked below.

Catalyst preparation method, Graphical abstract (https://doi.org/10.1021/acscatal.0c03391)


Atomic Layer Deposition Overcoating Improves Catalyst Selectivity and Longevity in Propane Dehydrogenation
Zheng Lu, Ryon W. Tracy, M. Leigh Abrams, Natalie L. Nicholls, Paul T. Barger, Tao Li, Peter C. Stair,
Arrelaine A. Dameron, Christopher P. Nicholas, and Christopher L. Marshall

ACS Catal. 2020, 10, XXX, 13957–13967
Publication Date:November 16, 2020

https://doi.org/10.1021/acscatal.0c03391

Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Nano-Engineered Surfaces Unlock New Material Capabilities

Forge Nano launches new tools to enable nano-tech research, using Atomic Layer Deposition


Putting recent investments to work, Forge Nano Inc. launches new tool to enable Particle Atomic Layer Deposition (PALD) development. Billed as a "PhD Thesis in a box," the PANDORA tool is an easy to use, configurable DESKTOP research tool unlike anything else. 


(Picture: forgenano.com)
 
PANDORA unlocks the potential of ATOMIC LEVEL surface engineering, in an impossibly compact form factor at an affordable price. PANDORA is built to exceed global and industrial standards, and comes with several configurations, including plasma. From energy storage materials to pharmaceutical research, PANDORA will help researchers develop revolutionary coatings across disciplines. More details are now available at: https://www.forgenano.com/pandora.

Forge Nano specializes in optimizing the way surfaces interact at an ATOMIC level. Using proprietary technology, Forge Nano can apply nano coatings onto the surface of virtually anything. Now Forge Nano puts that power into the hands of researchers everywhere with an easy to use, configurable DESKTOP unit that can lead to materials innovations anywhere in the world.

"By designing the way surfaces interact, we can optimize their performance in many ways. We are truly manufacturing with atoms. The applications for ALD and PALD are nearly endless. By adding partners like Sumitomo Corporation of Americas and ALIAD (Air Liquide Venture Capital), we can develop and introduce new technologies like PANDORA to the market more efficiently. By enabling innovation with a community of active users, and collaborating in Commercialization programs, we provide a clear path to scalability." Dr. Paul Lichty- CEO Forge Nano.

Saturday, December 22, 2018

Quantum Dots-Silica Sphere with selective surface passivation by ALD for flexible displays

Bottom up Stabilization of CsPbBr3 Quantum Dots-Silica Sphere with Selective Surface Passivation via Atomic Layer Deposition
Qinyong Xiang, Binze Zhou, Kun Cao, Yanwei Wen, Yun Li, Zhaojie Wang, Chenchen Jiang, Bin Shan , and Rong Chen
Chem. Mater., 2018, 30 (23), pp 8486–8494

All-inorganic perovskite quantum dots suffer from poor stability in a humid and heat environment. In this article, CsPbBr3 quantum dots (CsPbBr3 QDs) are stabilized by coating nanoscale alumina on a CsPbBr3 QDs-silica luminescent sphere (CsPbBr3 QDs-SLS) via atomic layer deposition (ALD). Utilizing the intrinsic reactivity differences toward precursors, the surface defect sites of CsPbBr3 QDs are selectively passivated. The inorganic alumina coating layers can effectively reduce the ion migration and crystal deformation of CsPbBr3 QDs. In situ quartz crystal microbalance measurements show that organic ligands remain attached to the CsPbBr3 QDs surface during the ALD coating process. NMR, XPS, and first-principles calculations are performed to reveal the interaction strength between CsPbBr3 QDs-SLS and precursors. The surface passivation of alumina on CsPbBr3 QDs-SLS effectively stabilizes the QDs without reducing the photoluminescent quantum yield.


Reprinted with permission from Chem. Mater., 2018, 30 (23), pp 8486–8494. Copyright 2018 American Chemical Society.

Friday, May 5, 2017

A new cool ALD particle coating machine with a vibrating fluidized bed reactor (FBR) by Beneq

Here is a new cool ALD particle coating machine with a vibrating fluidized bed reactor (FBR) by Beneq. Check out the details on the Beneq Blog (LINK)

Watch the Beneq TFS 200 and FBR fluidization process in action in this sand fluidization clip below (embedded from www.beneq.com, LINK).




Schematic overview (www.beneq.com)

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

ALD protects luminescent quantum dots

Researchers from Saint Louis, USA, protects CdTe quantum dots from oxidation by using alumina shells synthesized by ALD. The recnte resutlts have been published in Chemical Communications (Chem. Commun., 2016, Advance Article DOI: 10.1039/C6CC05090E)

ALD coated quantum dots (figure released by Royal Society of Chemistry, License Number: 3947440205944 , Chem. Commun., 2016, Advance Article DOI: 10.1039/C6CC05090E)

Background:

Applications of luminescent quantum dots require the materials to be stable under a wide range of temperatures, photon fluxes and chemicfial environments. The researchers from St Lois demonstrate that Al2O3 shells synthesized by atomic layer deposition on films of CdTe quantum dots are effective to prevent chemical degradation for up to 17 hours under continuous illumination at 90 °C in ambient air. 

ALD was carried out in a custom hot wall reactor and more information can be found in the free to download supplementary information (here).
 

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

NRL Reveals Novel Uniform Coating Process of p-ALD



Scientists at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) have devised a clever combination of materials - when used during the thin-film growth process - to reveal that particle atomic layer deposition, or p-ALD, deposits a uniform nanometer-thick shell on core particles regardless of core size, a discovery having significant impacts for many applications since most large scale powder production techniques form powder batches that are made up of a range of particles sizes. 


Artistic depiction of prior understanding of p-ALD (left) and new understanding of p-ALD (right) gained by NRL’s work, as well as implications for proactive applications using particle atomic layer deposition, which as UV, are captured in solar cells and abrasion resistance paints.
(U.S. Naval Research Laboratory) - See more at: http://www.nrl.navy.mil/media/news-releases/2016/NRL-Reveals-Novel-Uniform-Coating-Process-of-pALD#sthash.RLSdtwyU.dpuf


Artistic depiction of prior understanding of p-ALD (left) and new understanding of p-ALD (right) gained by NRL’s work, as well as implications for proactive applications using particle atomic layer deposition, which as UV, are captured in solar cells and abrasion resistance paints. (U.S. Naval Research Laboratory)

 


- See more at: http://www.nrl.navy.mil/media/news-releases/2016/NRL-Reveals-Novel-Uniform-Coating-Process-of-pALD#sthash.RLSdtwyU.dpuf

The original journal publication in JVSTA is given below as an abstract.


Growth per cycle of alumina atomic layer deposition on nano- and micro-powders

    Kedar Manandhar1,a), James A. Wollmershauser2, Janice E. Boercker2 and Boris N. Feigelson2,a)
    + View Affiliations
    a) Present address: Electronic Science and Technology Division, Naval Research Laboratory, 4555 Overlook Avenue SW, Washington DC 20375, USA. Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed; electronic addresses: borisf@estd.nrl.navy.mil; kedar.manandhar.ctr@nrl.navy.mil
    J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 34, 021519 (2016); http://dx.doi.org/10.1116/1.4941918
     
    Core–shell powders consisting of a tungsten particle core and thin alumina shell have been synthesized using atomic layer deposition in a rotary reactor. Standard atomic layer deposition of trimethylaluminum/water at 150 °C utilizing a microdosing technique was performed on four different batches of powder with different average particle sizes. The particle size of the powders studied ranges from ∼25 to 1500 nm. The high mass-thickness contrast between alumina and tungsten in transmission electron microscopy images demonstrates that the particle core/shell interface is abrupt. This allows for the uncomplicated measurement of alumina thickness and therefore the accurate determination of growth per cycle. In agreement with prior works, the highest growth per cycle of ∼2 Å/cycle occurred on the batch of powder with the smallest average particle size and the growth per cycle decreased with increasing average particle size of a powder batch. However, the growth per cycle of the alumina film on an individual particle in a batch is shown to be independent of the size of an individual particle, and therefore, a powder batch which consists of particles size spanning orders of magnitude has constant shell thickness on all particles. This uniformity of thickness on different particle sizes in a particular batch is determined to be due to the difficulty of removing residual water molecules from the powder during the purging cycle of the atomic layer deposition(ALD) process. Therefore, rotary ALD on a single batch of powder with wide particle size distribution provides the same shell thickness regardless of individual particle size, which may have positive implications for particle ALD applications where the shell thickness determines critical parameters, such as particle passivation and manipulation of optical properties. 

Saturday, February 6, 2016

Carbon nanospheres with highly monodispersed & conformal metal coating of carbon nanoparticles

Here is a very interesting paper on conformal coatings of various metal coated carbon nano particles not using ALD - so you should all be aware of this competition! The paper from Australian researchers has a Creative Commons open source and is given below. Thre paths for conformal coatings are reported and visualized in the the overview below.

A synthetic strategy for carbon nanospheres impregnated with highly monodispersed metal nanoparticles

Tianyu Yang, Huajuan Ling, Jean-Francois Lamonier, Mietek Jaroniec, Jun Huang et al.
NPG Asia Materials (2016) 8, e240; doi:10.1038/am.2015.145, licensed under under a Creative Commons CC-BY license





Schematic illustration of three general routes for the formation of various types of nanospheres using aminophenol–formaldehyde (APF) resin (Source: NPG Asia Materials (2016) 8, e240; doi:10.1038/am.2015.145, licensed under under a Creative Commons CC-BY license)

Friday, September 11, 2015

Chalmers University of Technology have developed a new way to study nanoparticles one at a time

Yet another recent innovative application using Gold! Scientists at Chalmers University of Technology have developed a new way to study nanoparticles one at a time, and have discovered that individual particles that may seem identical in fact can have very different properties. The results, which may prove to be important when developing new materials or applications such as hydrogen sensors for fuel cell cars, have been published in Nature Materials.


A single gold plasmonic nanoantenna probes the hydrogen absorption in an adjacent palladium nanocube. Illustration by Ella Marushchenko and Alex Tokarev.

– We were able to show that you gain deeper insights into the physics of how nanomaterials interact with molecules in their environment by looking at the individual nanoparticle as opposed to looking at many of them at the same time, which is what is usually done, says Associate Professor Christoph Langhammer, who led the project.



By applying a new experimental approach called plasmonic nanospectroscopy, the group studied hydrogen absorption into single palladium nanoparticles and found that particles with exactly the same shape and size may exhibit differences as great as 40 millibars in the pressure at which hydrogen is absorbed. The development of sensors that can detect hydrogen leaks in fuel cell powered cars is one example of where this new understanding could become valuable in the future.

– One main challenge when working on hydrogen sensors is to design materials whose response to hydrogen is as linear and reversible as possible. In that way, the gained fundamental understanding of the reasons underlying the differences between seemingly identical individual particles and how this makes the response irreversible in a certain hydrogen concentration range can be helpful, says Langhammer.

Others have looked at single nanoparticles one at a time, but the new approach introduced by the Chalmers team uses visible light with low intensity to study the particles. This means that the method is non-invasive and does not disturb the system it is investigating by, for example, heating it up.

– When studying individual nanoparticles you have to send some kind of probe to ask the particle ‘what are you doing?’. This usually means focusing a beam of high-energy electrons or photons or a mechanical probe onto a very tiny volume. You then quickly get very high energy densities, which might perturb the process you want to look at. This effect is minimized in our new approach, which is also compatible with ambient conditions, meaning that we can study nanoparticles one at a time in as close to a realistic environment as possible.

Interdisciplinary collaboration

The project has been a successful collaboration initiative within the Chalmers Area of Advance Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, with a strong ambition to work interdisciplinarily. It involves researchers from the groups of Christoph Langhammer, Fredrik Westerlund and Kasper Moth-Poulsen at the departments of Physics, Biology and Chemistry. The Area of Advance also funded PhD student and first author of the published paper, Svetlana Syrenova, who performed all the single particle experiments, and a postdoctoral fellow, Yuri Diaz Fernandez who developed the colloidal self-assembly process used to make the samples together with PhD student Tina Gschneidtner.

– Svetlana Syrenova has patiently done hundreds of experiments over the last three years. And though it has been tempting at times to publish the results earlier, she was always ready to give it one more try and improve things further. This was one of the keys to succeed with publishing our work in such a prestigious journal, together with the fantastic collaboration with the Moth-Poulsen group stimulated by the Area of Advance, says Langhammer. 

A new scientific paradigm

Even though they have now reached the level where their results are ready to be published, Christoph Langhammer believes they have just scratched the surface of what their discovery and developed experimental methodology will lead to in relation to further research. He hopes that they have helped to establish a new experimental paradigm, where looking at nanoparticles individually will become standard in the scientific world.

– It is not good enough to look at, and thus obtain an average of, hundreds or millions of particles if you want to understand the details of how nanoparticles behave in different environments and applications. You have to look at individual ones, and we have found a new way to do that. My own long-term vision is to apply our method to more complex processes and materials, and to push the limits in terms of how small nanoparticles can be for us to be able to measure them. Hopefully, along the way, we will gain even deeper insights into the fascinating world of nanomaterials.

TAU researcher harnesses gold nanoparticles to engineer novel biocompatible cardiac patch

After recent success by Barry Lab realizing precursors for gold ALD I see gold application appearing all the time. Here is a lifesaving recent application of gold nano particles from Tel Aviv University, Israel. 



Because heart cells cannot multiply and cardiac muscles contain few stem cells, heart tissue is unable to repair itself after a heart attack. Now Tel Aviv University researchers are literally setting a new gold standard in cardiac tissue engineering.


Picture from TUA press release 

Dr. Tal Dvir and his graduate student Michal Shevachof TAU's Department of Biotechnology, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, have been developing sophisticated micro- and nanotechnological tools — ranging in size from one millionth to one billionth of a meter — to develop functional substitutes for damaged heart tissues. Searching for innovative methods to restore heart function, especially cardiac "patches" that could be transplanted into the body to replace damaged heart tissue, Dr. Dvir literally struck gold. He and his team discovered that gold particles are able to increase the conductivity of biomaterials.

In a study published by Nano Letters, Dr. Dvir's team presented their model for a superior hybrid cardiac patch, which incorporates biomaterial harvested from patients and gold nanoparticles. "Our goal was twofold," said Dr. Dvir. "To engineer tissue that would not trigger an immune response in the patient, and to fabricate a functional patch not beset by signalling or conductivity problems."

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

PneumatiCoat completes DOE Project for a Battery Pilot Plant and recieves US Navy funding

Battery cathode materials with improved safety and performance. Picoshield® coatings provide improvements on many of the most common Li-ion cathode materials used today. As the leader in ALD battery materials PneumatiCoat (PCT) can attain cutting edge performance out of existing battery materials, both cathode and anode. 

Recently has had success in finalizing and receiving additional DOE funded projects as reported here:

PCT Presenting at DOE Annual Merit Review in Arlington, VA

June 2015 - PCT is presenting the most recent results from our DOE Phase II project. With the completion of our pilot plant, large format Picoshield® battery cells are built and producing excellent data. The results expand on the positive work conducted during the Phase I by proving out the quality, consistency, and throughput achievable using our high throughput system. The Annual Merit Review showcases DOE funded research in the fields of hydrogen, fuel cells, and vehicle technologies.

PCT Awarded NAVY SBIR Phase I for "Long Lasting, Highly Efficient, and Safe Batteries for Sensor Systems"

June 2015 - Pneumaticoat Technologies has been awarded a DOD Phase I SBIR from the Navy to develop improved batteries for sensor systems. This work will focus on improving the overall safety of the battery systems and improving the lifetime performance of critical, battery operated, sensors. Picoshield® coatings will play a crucial role in improving battery performance.
More informsation can be found here: http://www.pneumaticoat.com/news.html 


By incorporating well established manufacturing principles (continuous vs. batch, variable throughput vs. fixed throughput, etc.), PneumatiCoat Technologies has developed an efficient and cheap process for precise coating of powders, flats, and objects. Thanks to our innovative process design and system building know-how, Pneumaticoat Technologies is pushing the boundaries of ALD for manufacturing. With our technology, the days of ALD being too slow and too expensive are over. With high throughput manufacturing capabilities, at inexpensive price points, a great majority of the application technologies that were "put on the shelf" can now be reconsidered as viable commercial products. Combined with the exponential growth in application R&D, PneumatiCoat Technologies' systems are well-poised to help usher in a new wave of customized products to market. (http://www.pneumaticoat.com)

Friday, June 19, 2015

How to make carbon nano particles in the kitchen

Stuff the naked chef Jamie Oliver - Welcome to the first season of The Bald Swedish Chef - humpee, dumpee dump - put the chicken in the pot. In our first show we will take a closer look on how you can make car con nano particles at home in your kitchen.


Some background information - why do we need nano sized carbon particles in the first case? As reported here in Science Daily, researchers have found an easy way to produce carbon nanoparticles that are small enough to evade the body's immune system, reflect light in the near-infrared range for easy detection, and carry payloads of pharmaceutical drugs to targeted tissues. 


University of Illinois postdoctoral researcher Prabuddha Mukherjee, left, bioengineering professors Rohit Bhargava and Dipanjan Pan, and postdoctoral researcher Santosh Misra, right, report the development of a new class of carbon nanoparticles for biomedical use.

The researchers form Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed a new approach that generates the particles in a few hours and uses only a handful of ingredients, including store-bought molasses.

"If you have a microwave and honey or molasses, you can pretty much make these particles at home," Pan said. "You just mix them together and cook it for a few minutes, and you get something that looks like char, but that is nanoparticles with high luminescence. This is one of the simplest systems that we can think of. It is safe and highly scalable for eventual clinical use."

The nanoparticles also can be made quite small, less than eight nanometers in diameter.

"Our immune system fails to recognize anything under 10 nanometers," Pan said. "So, these tiny particles are kind of camouflaged, I would say; they are hiding from the human immune system."

So guys, I am off on a camping trip to South of France and if I come across any of that grandma´s Molasses at Carrefour I intend to report back on the experimental procedure. Stay tuned. I did however forget to pack the TEM grids so the verification of the results have to wait until I am back in the lab. Unless there is an optical scattering method that can be used to detect those particles...

The abstract to the paper where the research above has been reported:

Tunable Luminescent Carbon Nanospheres with Well-Defined Nanoscale Chemistry for Synchronized Imaging and Therapy


Prabuddha Mukherjee, Santosh K. Misra, Mark C. Gryka, Huei-Huei Chang, Saumya Tiwari, William L. Wilson,  John W. Scott, Rohit Bhargava and Dipanjan Pan
Article first published online: 20 MAY 2015

In this work, we demonstrate the significance of defined surface chemistry in synthesizing luminescent carbon nanomaterials (LCN) with the capability to perform dual functions (i.e., diagnostic imaging and therapy). The surface chemistry of LCN has been tailored to achieve two different varieties: one that has a thermoresponsive polymer and aids in the controlled delivery of drugs, and the other that has fluorescence emission both in the visible and near-infrared (NIR) region and can be explored for advanced diagnostic modes. Although these particles are synthesized using simple, yet scalable hydrothermal methods, they exhibit remarkable stability, photoluminescence and biocompatibility. The photoluminescence properties of these materials are tunable through careful choice of surface-passivating agents and can be exploited for both visible and NIR imaging. Here the synthetic strategy demonstrates the possibility to incorporate a potent antimetastatic agent for inhibiting melanomas in vitro. Since both particles are Raman active, their dispersion on skin surface is reported with Raman imaging and utilizing photoluminescence, their depth penetration is analysed using fluorescence 3D imaging. Our results indicate a new generation of tunable carbon-based probes for diagnosis, therapy or both.




Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Eureka moments in Nanochemistry – 2015 Centenary Award, Professor Geoffrey Ozin

Here is a fantastic article on Nanochemistry published in Materials Views - Eureka moments in Nanochemistry – 2015 Centenary Award


This article is an invited piece from Professor Geoffrey Ozin, University of Toronto, on his 2015 RSC Centenary Award for his work in defining, enabling and popularising a chemical approach to nanomaterials for innovative nanotechnology in advanced materials and biomedical science.


"In this Perspective I will look back over my careers work and reminisce, with the help of a few graphical depictions, about the “eureka moments” that led me to imagine and help develop the field of Nanochemistry. "

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 - ALD!

7. Multi-photon direct laser written (DLW) photonic bandgap nanomaterials

"In collaboration with colleagues at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, I used this nanofabrication method to invert a DLW polymer template in silica by atomic layer deposition. This enabled a subsequent inversion in silicon by disilane chemical vapor deposition, creating thereby a silicon replica of the original polymer template (Nature Materials 2006). Silicon photonic bandgap nanomaterials created by this inventive ‘double inversion’ method facilitate the development of silicon-based all-optical devices, circuits and chips with utility in optical telecommunication and computer systems. I spearheaded a creative extension of this work with single-step DLW in a high refractive index ‘inorganic’ photo-resist, arsenic sesquisulphide, As2S3. This opened the door to a large variety of new photonic bandgap materials and architectures that can be made by DLW without inversion of a sacrificial polymer template (ChemMater 2008)."



Thursday, April 30, 2015

Pneumatic flow reactor for continuous production

Here is a very interesting new Spatial ALD Technology for coating particles - Delft IMP.

"Delft IMP (Intensified Materials Production) commercializes nanostructuring of particles using atomic and molecular layer deposition (ALD and MLD), based on the patented and publicized IP and know-how developed within the Product & Process Engineering (PPE) group at Delft University of Technology. Following various feasibility projects between industry and university, Delft IMP was initiated end 2014 to truly commercialize the technology."

Pneumatic flow reactor for continuous production 
 
"For catalysis, required volumes are much higher, and stringent product control over the entire production is needed. For this purpose, Delft IMP and Technical University of Delft have developed a new patent protected reactor concept, a based on pneumatic transport, as shown in figure below."

ALD scale-up

Schematic of ALD in a pneumatic transport reactor. Check out the company web from more details here

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Missouri S&T is synthesizing multi-element ENPs for Single Particle ICPMS references using ALD

Missouri S&T is synthesizing multi-element ENPs for Single Particle ICPMS references using ALD. Missouri University of Science and Technology and Perklin Elmer reports : The growing use of nanoparticles in consumer projects has raised concerns about their adverse effects on human health and the environment. A new technology being tested at Missouri University of Science and Technology could improve the field of study by giving researchers a tool to quickly measure a wide range of characteristics and detect trace levels of nanoparticles.
 
 

The technology, Single Particle (SP) – Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) – Mass Spectrometry (MS), addresses one of the National Nanotechnology Initiative’s most urgent priorities, tracking the fate of engineered nanoparticles. The NNI was established by the U.S. government for the research and development of nanoscale projects.

International instrumentation company PerkinElmer installed its NexION 300/350D-ICP-MS on the Missouri S&T campus in February. The instrument, which measures nanoparticles 10 times faster than other ICP-MS on the market, is being used as part of a collaborative research project between PerkinElmer and Missouri S&T to develop SP-ICP-MS methods for characterizing novel engineered nanoparticles (ENP) and investigate their mechanisms and toxicity

Dr. Xinhua Liang, assistant professor of chemical and biochemical engineering at Missouri S&T, another member of the research team, is synthesizing multi-element ENPs as calibration and reference material using advanced atomic layer deposition (ALD) technology. ALD is best known for its ability to deposit high-quality thin films of materials based on alternating pulses of chemical vapors that react with surfaces. Liang is using the technology to deposit metal oxide films on the ENPs.
 
Read the full story here.