History of Flame Spray (FS) Technique

Abstract

The flame spray (FS) technique has been practiced in a non-intentional way since the prehistoric age, according to paintings observed in the walls of caves in China. At that time, its principles were not understood, but people had the knowledge to produce the pigments used in the paint by the FS process. The first contemporary reactors for nanoparticles flame synthesis started in the 1940s, by the production of fumed silica. Only in 1971, G.D. Ulrich pioneered the first principles of the FS method. Since this day, several laboratories and companies have developed different apparatus and alternative methods, aiming to obtain materials with improved properties. This is the main driving force for the evolution of the FS process during the last decades, where more materials and equipments are reported in literature.