Influence of the impaction angle on the triboelectric charging of aerosol nanoparticles

A low pressure impactor is used to measure triboelectric charging behavior of metallic nanoparticles. Ag nanoparticles, produced by spark discharge, were impacted onto Pt sputtered targets. The influence of the impaction angle and impaction velocity on the triboelectric charging was investigated. While for perpendicular impaction the charge transfer behavior of previous work was confirmed, the oblique impaction revealed new phenomena. Additional charge transfer was observable, which increases with obliqueness. The possibility of mass transfer between particle and target due to the high-energy collisions was also investigated. SEM characterization and Auger spectroscopy indicate mass transfer from the particle to the target surface

Interaction of reactive gases with platinum aerosol particles at room temperature: effects on morphology and surface properties

Nanoparticles produced in technical aerosol processes exhibit often dendritic structures, composed of primary particles. Surprisingly, a small but consistent discrepancy was observed between the results of common aggregation models and in situ measurements of structural parameters, such as fractal dimension or mass-mobility exponent. A phenomenon which has received little attention so far is the interaction of agglomerates with admixed gases, which might be responsible for this discrepancy. In this work, we present an analytical series, which underlines the agglomerate morphology depending on the reducing or oxidizing nature of a carrier gas for platinum particles. When hydrogen is added to openly structured particles, as investigated by tandem differential mobility analysis (DMA) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis, Pt particles compact already at room temperature, resulting in an increased fractal dimension. Aerosol Photoemission Spectroscopy (APES) was also able to demonstrate the interaction of a gas with a nanoscaled platinum surface, resulting in a changed sintering behavior for reducing and oxidizing atmospheres in comparison to nitrogen. The main message of this work is about the structural change of particles exposed to a new environment after complete particle formation. We suspect significant implications for the interpretation of agglomerate formation, as many aerosol processes involve reactive gases or slightly contaminated gases in terms of trace amounts of unintended species

Investigation of particle formation of electrospray flame pyrolysis using a scanning mobility particle sizer

Die elektrohydrodynamische Zerstäubung von flüssigen Präkursoren gekoppelt mit der Flammensprühpyrolyse erlaubt die Synthese von verschiedenartigen, metalloxidischen Nanopartikel. Ein Aufbau bestehend aus einem definiert verfahrbaren Brenner und einer Probennahme in der Flamme eröffnet dabei die Möglichkeit der Erfassung von Partikelgrößenverteilungen entlang der Flammenhöhe. Die Bildung von Eisenoxid- und Siliziumdioxid-Partikel in einer Flamme konnte so mithilfe eines 1nm-SMPS-Aufbaus (Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer) auch in den Frühstadien der Partikelbildung erfasst werden. Hierbei zeigte sich, dass auch für einfache Präkursorlösungen bei hinreichend kleinen Tropfen hochwertige, homogene Nanopulver erzeugt werden können.Electrospray of liquid precursor coupled to flame spray pyrolysis allows for the synthesis of many different metal oxide nanoparticles. A setup consisting of a moveable burner and a static sampling system gives the possibility of characterizing particle size distributions across and along the flame. The particle formation of iron oxide and silica particles in a flame spray was investigated even for early stages using a 1nm scanning mobility particle sizer. Thereby it was found that even for simple precursor solutions high quality nanopowders could be produced as long as the droplet size is sufficiently small

Synthesis of Pure and Fe-Doped TiO2_2 Nanoparticles via Electrospray-Assisted Flame Spray Pyrolysis for Antimicrobial Applications

We report a straightforward aerosol-based approach to synthesizing pure and Fe-doped TiO$_2$ nanoparticles by continuous electrospray-assisted flame spray pyrolysis (EAFSP). Initially, pure TiO$_2$ nanoparticles were prepared by electrospraying titanium diisopropoxide bis(acetylacetonate) (TDIP) at varying concentrations onto a grounded flame. In this regard, various in situ (phase Doppler anemometry, high-speed camera, and scanning mobility particle sizer) and ex situ (small-angle X-ray scattering, transmission electron microscopy, and BET adsorption isotherms) diagnostics were applied for the analysis of the in-flight droplet characteristics in the spray, such as droplet μ-explosions, as well as primary and agglomerate nanoparticle evolution within the process and the particulate product. Moreover, single-particle ICP-MS (inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry) in situ measurements have been conducted to get insight into the process that causes various particle morphologies and to open up the option of an in situ determination of the particle formation route. Subsequently, the EAFSP method was utilized to produce Fe-doped TiO$_2$ nanoparticles. The influences of the Fe$^{3+}$ dopant concentration on the particle size, crystal structure, crystallite sizes, phase formation, oxygen vacancy defects, and optical gaps were systematically investigated. The presented EAFSP synthesis, in contrast to conventional flame spray pyrolysis (FSP) with gas atomization of the solvent/precursor, eliminates the need for dispersion gas and complex solvents, making it a more efficient and environmentally friendly method for nanoparticle synthesis. Finally, we studied the application potential of EAFSP-synthesized pure and Fe-doped TiO$_2$ nanoparticles for fighting bacteria resistant to an antibiotic, here spectinomycin-resistant Escherichia coli. A clear inhibitory effect of the Fe-doped TiO$_2$ nanoparticles could be observed during the growth of bacteria in the liquid medium, up to 99.4%. These results point out the high potential of the designed Fe-doped TiO$_2$ nanoparticles to act as antimicrobial agents and treatments against infections