Development of systems for the laser synthesis of nanoparticles starting from liquid precursors

The laser synthesis of nanoparticles starting from liquid precursors is particularly suitable as synthesis technique for obtaining nanoparticles. In the present work the laser pyrolysis is performed in a novel setup where the liquid precursor is brought with the aid of an original evaporator system to temperatures in excess of the boiling point and is finally fed into the reactor under the form of heated vapors.The process occurs in the gas phase and ensures the avoidance of the condensation. The temperature control system allows for the maintaining of the overall system temperature below the decomposition temperature and above the boiling. Temperatures up to 500 °C are assured for the mixed precursors. The control of the amount of the active substances is performed upstream, in the liquid phase. The set-up is able to offer safety conditions at the synthesis of substances with high toxicity. This experimental set-up was proposed in order to synthesize TiO₂ nanoparticles from TTIP because its boiling temperature is relatively high (239 °C grades). Different analytical techniques such as EDX, TEM, XRD and HRTEM were used in order to evaluate the structural characteristics of the produced nanopowders.