Investigation of Particle Formation of Electrospray Flame Pyrolysis Using a Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer

Electrospray of liquid precursor coupled to flame spray pyrolysis allows for the synthesis of many different metal oxide nanoparticles. A setup consisting of a moveable burner and a static sampling system gives the possibility of characterizing particle size distributions across and along the flame. The particle formation of iron oxide and silica particles in a flame spray was investigated even for early stages using a 1nm scanning mobility particle sizer. Thereby it was found that even for simple precursor solutions high quality nanopowders could be produced as long as the droplet size is sufficiently small.

Automated summary

Electrospray of liquid precursor coupled to flame spray pyrolysis enables the synthesis of diverse metal oxide nanoparticles. By utilizing a movable burner and a static sampling system, particle size distributions across and along the flame can be characterized. It was found that high quality nanopowders can be produced from simple precursor solutions as long as the droplet size is sufficiently small, even in the early stages of particle formation.