Plasma-Chemical Synthesis of Nanosized Powders-Nitrides,Carbides,Oxides,Carbon Nanotubes and Fullerenes

In this article the plasma-chemical synthesis of nanosized powders （nitrides, car- bides, oxides, carbon nanotubes and fullerenes） is reviewed. Nanosized powders - nitrides, carbides, oxides, carbon nanotubes and fullerenes have been successfully produced using different techniques, technological apparatuses and conditions for their plasma-chemical synthesis.

A New Combustion Process for Nanosized BaCe_(0.95)Y_(0.05)O_(3-δ) Powders

Nanosized BaCe_(0.95)Y_(0.05)O_(3-δ) powders with the homogeneous composition were synthesized by a new combustion process based on the Pechini method. A polymeric precursor sol was formed by use of citric acid and ethylene glycol as the chelating agents of metal ions. The perovskite-type BaCe_(0.95)Y_(0.05)O_(3-δ) powders with uniform shape and smaller than 40 nm in sized were obtained through the combustion of the polymeric precursor sol at the existence of nitric acid and ammonium hydroxide. It was found the particle size could be controlled by modulating the quantities of nitric acid and ammonium hydroxide, the quantities of the residue, carbonate ions were also affected by the quantities of the citric acid and ethylene glycol.

Preparation of nanosized W/Cu composite powder by sol-gel technique

Cu(NO3)(2) and (NH4)(6)H(2)W(12)O(40)center dot 4H(2)O were used to prepare W/Cu nanosized composite powder by sol-gel technique. The influences of heat treatment process, pH value of the solution and the amount of an addition agent on particle size were investigated by DSC, XRD and TEM. The results show that, at a certain heat treatment temperature, the W/Cu nanoparticle size increases with the pH value or the amount of the addition agent increasing.

Indium tin oxide nanosized composite powder prepared using waste ITO target

Indium tin oxide （ITO） nano-particles were prepared directly using waste ITO target, which had been coated by magnetron controlled sputtering. The waste ITO target was cleaned with de-ionized water, and then dissolved in acid, filtrated, neutralized, manipulated through azeotropic distillation and finally dried, and in this way the precursor of indium tin hydroxide was obtained. The nanosized rio composite powder was prepared after the precursor heat-treated at 500℃ for 2 h. TEM images show a narrow distribution of particle size is 5-20 nm and the particle size can be controlled. Its granule has a spherical shape and the dispersion of the particle is well. X-ray diffraction （XRD） patterns indicate the only cubic In2O3 phase in the ITO powder hot-treated at 500℃. The purity of ITO composite powder is 99.9907%. The content of radium within filtrate was detected by using the EDTA titration of determination of indium in the ITO powder and ITO target. Appropriate amount of SnCl4.5H2O was dissolved in the filtrate, and then ITO powder containing 10 wt.% SnO2 was successfully prepared by heat-treating.

Nanopowder production by gas-embedded electrical explosion of wire

A small electrical explosion of wire （EEW） setup for nanopowder production is constructed. It consists of a low inductance capacitor bank of 2 μF–4 μF typically charged to 8 kV–30 kV, a triggered gas switch, and a production chamber housing the exploding wire load and ambient gas. With the EEW device, nanosize powders of titanium oxides, titanium nitrides, copper oxides, and zinc oxides are successfully synthesized. The average particle size of synthesized powders under different experimental conditions is in a range of 20nm–80nm. The pressure of ambient gas or wire vapor can strongly affect the average particle size. The lower the pressure, the smaller the particle size is. For wire material with relatively high resistivity, such as titanium, whose deposited energy Wd is often less than sublimation energy W s due to the flashover breakdown along the wire prematurely ending the Joule heating process, the synthesized particle size of titanium oxides or titanium nitrides increases with overheat coefficient k （k = W d /Ws ） increasing.

GRAIN GROWTH IN NANOSIZE AIN POWDERS

The nanosize AIN particles were prepared by evaporation-condensation method in DC arc nitrogen plasma. Aluminium of high purity (99. 999%) was evaporated and nitrided in nitro-gen plasma by use of high temperature and high re-activity of plasma gas. The purity of nanosize AIN particles is more than 98% (wt%) and the average particle size is about 50nm. The grain growth of nanosize AlN particle is also studied. The results show that the nanosize AlN particle begins to grow up at 900℃ and the grain growth increase rapidly at 1100℃. When the temperature is increased to 1600℃, the surface of nanosize AIN particle has been sintered softly. Results will be beneficial to pre-pare AIN ceramics.

Effect of Firing Temperature on the Electromagnetic Properties of Electronic Transformer Cores Developed by Using Nanosized Mn–Zn Ferrite Powders

Current investigation deals with the effect of grain growth process as a function of sintering temperature on the electromagnetic properties （initial permeability, impedance, and gain） of Mn-Zn ferrite （MZF） cores （toroids）. By employing auto combustion process, nanosized [（20 ± 5） nm] MZF powders were synthesized and toroid shape cores were obtained after subsequent calcination and firing （sintering） process. It was observed that the submicron structure （0.5 μm） achieved in the ferrite core sintered at 1,000 ℃ was gradually transformed into micron size grains by increasing the firing temperature i.e., 1,100, 1,200, and 1,350 ℃. The results reveal that MZF core sintered at low temperature （1,000 ℃） showed high impedance, low initial permeability, and narrow working frequency range i.e., 3-15 MHz. However, the improvement in initial permeability, sintered density, and operational frequency range （100 kHz-17 MHz） was observed at high temperature （1,350 ℃） firing in the inert environment. This synthesized MZF core is more suitable for miniaturized switch mode power supply applications.

Synthesis and characterization of BaCeO_3 nanocrystals via solvothermal-based method

A facile approach to preparing well-dispersed nanocrystals of BaCeO3 was developed by a combination of solvothermal and annealing processes. The precursor consisted of amorphous BaCO3 and CeO2, and the conversion of the precursor to crystalline BafeO3 nanocrystals occurred upon heat treatment at a relatively low temperature. The as-processed BaCeO3 had an orthorhombic structure and the average size of such crystals was approximately 80 nm. The obtained products were characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared （FT-IR）, X-Ray Diffraction （XRD）, Laser Raman Spectroscopy （LRS）, Scanning Electron Microscopy （SEM）, Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectrometry （EDS）, and Transmission Electron Microscopy （TEM）. This preparation process could also be used to synthesize doped barium cerate complex oxides Bafe0.95M0.05O3-δ （M=Y, Nd, Gd, and Sm）.

Comparative study of the cytotoxicity of the nanosized and microsized tellurium powders on HeLa cells

To compare the cytotoxicity on HeLa cells induced by nanosized and microsized tellurium powders, HeLa cells were exposed to different concentrations of tellurium powders （0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 μg/mL） for 12 h. In this study, detection of a series of biomarkers, including reactive oxygen species （ROS）, glutathione （GSH）, 8-hydroxy-2＇- deoxyguanosine （8-OHdG）, in addition to DNA and protein crosslink （DPC） and MTT assay, were conducted to evaluate the cytotoxicity. It is indicated that compared with the control group, there was no significant difference in the induced cytotoxicity at concentrations lower than 50 μg/mL for both nanosized and microsized tellurium powders. While there appears a significant difference in the induced cytotoxicity for nanosized tellurium powders when the concentration is higher than 100 μg/mL as well as for microsized tellurium powders when the concentration is higher than 200 μg/mL. Moreover, it is found that the cytotoxicity induced on HeLa cells exhibits a certain dose-effect relationship with the concentration of tellurium powders. A conclusion has been reached that the toxicity on HeLa cells can be induced by both nanosized and microsized tellurium powders, and the toxicity of the nanosized tellurium powders is significantly greater than the microsized one.