Highly-repeatable generation of very small nanoparticles by Pulsed-Laser Ablation in Liquids of a high-speed rotating target

Amandine Resano-Garcia (1) , Stéphane Champmartin (2) , Yann Battie (1) , Alain Koch (1) , Aotmane En Naciri (1) , Abdelhak Ambari (2) , Nouari Chaoui (1)

1 LCP-A2MC - Laboratoire de Chimie et Physique - Approche Multi-échelle des Milieux Complexes
2 LAMPA - Laboratoire Angevin de Mécanique, Procédés et InnovAtion

By irradiating a cylindrical silver target rotated at a high-speed within the range 300–2400 rpm (lateral speed 0.16–1.25 m/s) in pure water, we prepare ligand-free Ag nanoparticles (NPs) with a size of 4 ± 2 nm which are likely to be primary particles. Usually, the generation of NPs showing such a small size requires either a laser post-treatment and/or chemical additives. As the rotation rate of the target is increased, calculated 3D flow patterns revealed different hydrodynamic regimes which clearly influence the ablation rate and repeatability of the process as well as the colloidal properties. In addition to revealing the importance of fluid dynamics in pulsed-laser ablations in liquids, this study provides a way for producing in one step pure NPs with sizes below 5 nm which are suitable for applications in catalysis.

Mots clés: nanoparticles; hydrodynamic instability

Domaines: Chimie théorique et/ou physique; Matériaux

Amandine Resano-Garcia, Stéphane Champmartin, Yann Battie, Alain Koch, Aotmane En Naciri, et al.. Highly-repeatable generation of very small nanoparticles by Pulsed-Laser Ablation in Liquids of a high-speed rotating target. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 2016, 18 (48), pp.32868-32875. ⟨10.1039/C6CP06511B⟩. ⟨hal-02296342⟩