Using Plasma Electrolysis for Efficient Manufacturing of Nanoparticles

纳米粒子在包括电池、生物传感器和太阳能电池在内的各种先进设备中发挥着关键作用。传统的合成纳米粒子的方法通常效率低下，产生的废物不易回收利用。该奖项支持对等离子体电解中的化学反应和物理反应的基础研究，以获得能够有效制造纳米粒子的知识。等离子体电解是一种与液体接触的辉光放电(如霓虹灯)。等离子体被液体电解液限制在电极周围，导致非常高的能量密度。这种高密度等离子体有助于从工作电极有效地形成纳米颗粒。这项研究将通过促进关于液-气-固界面上的等离子体物理和化学的知识而使科学界受益。在光伏设备和电池中使用高性价比的纳米颗粒将极大地促进清洁能源的发电和储存效率。这项研究产生的技术不仅将提升美国在纳米材料制造方面的竞争力，还将确保可持续经济并解决全球环境问题。这项研究将通过吸引大学生和高中生，加强纳米材料科学和等离子体物理的跨学科研究、教育和培训，从而增加代表不足的群体的参与，扩大熟练工人的队伍。等离子体电解可以成为一种快速、高效的纳米颗粒制造工艺。前人的研究表明，等离子体电解往往会产生大颗粒(微米级)和不规则的电极表面形貌。这导致了一种传统的看法，即多个化学反应和物理反应同时发生，物理反应主导着等离子体电解。人们对这些化学反应知之甚少。为了填补这一知识空白，实现等离子体电解制造纳米颗粒的全部潜力，研究小组将1)建立颗粒-流体混合模型来描述等离子体电解中的物理和化学反应；2)使用原位光学发射光谱来验证等离子体反应和模拟结果；3)将物理和化学反应解耦，以检验电解液组成决定气体析出(气泡或连续层)的假设，该假说支配放电特性和主导的等离子体反应；4)建立等离子体电解参数(电解液组成、磁场和放电功率)与纳米颗粒形貌之间的关系。

Nanoparticles play a key role in a wide variety of advanced devices, including batteries, biosensors, and solar cells. The conventional means of synthesizing nanoparticles is generally inefficient and produces waste materials that are not easily recyclable. This award supports fundamental research on the chemical and physical reactions in plasma electrolysis to obtain knowledge that will enable efficient manufacture of nanoparticles. Plasma electrolysis is a glow discharge (like Neon light) in contact with liquid. The plasma is confined around an electrode by the liquid electrolyte, leading to very high energy density. This high-density plasma facilitates effective formation of nanoparticles from the working electrode. This research will benefit the scientific community by advancing knowledge about plasma physics and chemistry at liquid-gas-solid interfaces. Using cost-effective nanoparticles in photovoltaic devices and batteries will greatly promote the efficiency of clean energy generation and storage. The technologies that emerge from this research will not only promote US competitiveness in nanomaterials manufacturing, but will also ensure a sustainable economy and address global environmental concerns. This research will strengthen interdisciplinary research, education, and training in nanomaterials science and plasma physics by engaging college and high school students, thereby increasing the participation of underrepresented groups and expanding the pool of skilled workers.Plasma electrolysis can be a rapid and efficient process for nanoparticle manufacturing. All previous studies indicate that plasma electrolysis tends to create large particles (microns) and irregular electrode surface morphology. This has led to the conventional belief that multiple chemical and physical reactions occur simultaneously and that physical reactions dominate plasma electrolysis. Very little is known about the chemical reactions. To fill this knowledge gap and realize the full potential of plasma electrolysis for nanoparticle manufacturing, the research team will 1) establish a particle-fluid hybrid model to describe the physical and chemical reactions in plasma electrolysis; 2) use in-situ optical emission spectroscopy to verify the plasma reactions and the modeling results; 3) decouple the physical and chemical reactions to test the hypothesis that the electrolyte composition determines gas evolution (bubbles or a continuous layer), which governs discharge characteristics and the dominant plasma reactions; and 4) establish the relationships between plasma electrolysis parameters (electrolyte composition, magnetic field, and discharge power) and nanoparticle morphology.