A thermodynamics model for morphology prediction of aluminum nano crystals fabricated by the inert gas condensation method

Room-temperature liquid-phase synthesis of aluminium nanoparticles

Aluminium nanoparticles, Al(0), are obtained via liquid-phase synthesis at 25 °C. Accordingly, AlBr₃ is reduced by lithium naphthalenide ([LiNaph]) in toluene in the presence of N,N,N',N'-tetramethylethylenediamine (TMEDA). The Al(0) nanoparticles are small (5.6 ± 1.5 nm) and highly crystalline. A light yellow colour and absorption at 250-350 nm are related to the plasmon-resonance absorption. Due to TMEDA functionalization, the Al(0) nanoparticles are colloidally and chemically stable, but show high reactivity after TMEDA removal.

Vapor-phase production of nanomaterials

The synthesis of nanomaterials, with characteristic dimensions of 1 to 100 nm, is a key component of nanotechnology. Vapor-phase synthesis of nanomaterials has numerous advantages such as high product purity, high-throughput continuous operation, and scalability that have made it the dominant approach for the commercial synthesis of nanomaterials. At the same time, this class of methods has great potential for expanded use in research and development. Here, we present a broad review of progress in vapor-phase nanomaterial synthesis. We describe physically-based vapor-phase synthesis methods including inert gas condensation, spark discharge generation, and pulsed laser ablation; plasma processing methods including thermal- and non-thermal plasma processing; and chemically-based vapor-phase synthesis methods including chemical vapor condensation, flame-based aerosol synthesis, spray pyrolysis, and laser pyrolysis. In addition, we summarize the nanomaterials produced by each method, along with representative applications, and describe the synthesis of the most important materials produced by each method in greater detail.