Condensation of Cu nanoparticles from the gas phase

Abstract

In order to determine the most efficient modes of copper-nanoparticle synthesis, a number of experiments on evaporation with the subsequent condensation of the initial material in the argon atmosphere have been carried out. In the course of the experiments, it has been discovered that intensified evaporation significantly increases the average size of the synthesized particles. However, the investigation of the change in the dimensional characteristics of the produced clusters depending on the intensity of the buffer-gas flow faced serious difficulties. The obtained results differ significantly from the earlier experiments on the synthesis of the transition-metal oxides. In order to solve this contradiction, the computer simulation of the condensation of copper atoms from the gas phase with three different cooling rates and two final temperatures T = 373 K and Т = 77 K has been performed. It has been discovered that the cooling rate of the gas mixture and the final temperature directly influence the quantity and size of the produced particles. Thus, at a tenfold lower cooling rate, the average number of particles increases 2.7 times at a final temperature of 77 K and by 3.1 times at T = 373 K.