Nonthermal Plasma Synthesis of Metallic Ti Nanocrystals

Nanoscale metallic titanium (Ti) offers unique energetic and biocompatible characteristics for the aerospace and biomedical industries. A rapid and sustainable method to form purified Ti nanocrystals is still in demand due to their high oxygen affinity. Herein, we report the production of highly pur...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Qiaomiao Tu, David L. Poerschke, Uwe R. Kortshagen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-01-01
Series:Nanomaterials
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/14/3/264
Description
Summary:Nanoscale metallic titanium (Ti) offers unique energetic and biocompatible characteristics for the aerospace and biomedical industries. A rapid and sustainable method to form purified Ti nanocrystals is still in demand due to their high oxygen affinity. Herein, we report the production of highly purified Ti nanoparticles with a nonequilibrium face center cubic (FCC) structure from titanium tetrachloride (TiCl<sub>4</sub>) via a capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) route. Furthermore, we demonstrate a secondary H<sub>2</sub> treatment plasma as an effective strategy to improve the air stability of a thin layer of nanoparticles by further removal of chlorine from the particle surface. Hexagonal and cubic-shaped Ti nanocrystals of high purity were maintained in the air after the secondary H<sub>2</sub> plasma treatment. The FCC phase potentially originates from small-sized grains in the initial stage of nucleation inside the plasma environment, which is revealed by a size evolution study with variations of plasma power input.
ISSN:2079-4991