Nanoparticle production using atmospheric pressure cold plasma

A new technique is proposed for the production and coating of nanoparticles, based on the dissociation of a volatile precursor in an atmospheric pressure, non-equilibrium (cold) plasma. The plasma is produced by a dielectric barrier discharge. Using this technique, nanoparticles were successfully produced from acetylene, ferrocene and hexamethyldisiloxane, using argon and helium as carrier gasses. Carbon nanoparticles were formed from acetylene when argon was used as a carrier gas, while in helium no particles were observed. The difference between the gasses is most likely due to the plasma structure. The argon plasma is filamentary, whereas in helium a homogeneous glow is observed. Using ferrocene, iron particles were produced, which rapidly oxidized to form iron oxide when exposed to ambient air. Preliminary experiments on particle coating suggest that coating by a silicon-based compound is possible.