Multi-component co-condensation model of Ti-based boride/silicide nanoparticle growth in induction thermal plasmas

Numerical analysis is conducted for the titanium-based boilde and silicide nanoparticle synthesis using an induction thermal plasma including the material evaporation process and the nanoparticle growth process with nucleation and co-condensation. Both systems present the nano-scaled particle size distributions. Ti-B system shows the smaller particle diameter, sharper distribution, larger particle number density, and wider range of the composition than Ti-Si system. Ti-Si system provides a narrower range of the silicon content due to the simultaneous co-condensation of titanium and silicon. Finally the correlation between the particle size and the nonmetal content of the synthesized nanoparticles is presented on a chart. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.