Microwave plasma production of metal nanopowders

Abstract

Metal and metal alloy nanopowders were prepared by using the microwave plasma synthesis method. The microwave plasma was operated in atmospheric pressure at a frequency of 2.45 GHz. The precursor decomposed thermally in the plasma reaction region and the products were then condensed in the heat exchanger, were separated from the gas by the powder filter, and then finally collected in the powder collector. The effect of various processing parameters such as plasma gas, carrier gas, cooling gas, precursor raw materials and feeding rate were studied in this work. Cu, Mo, W, Mo-Ni and Fe-Co nanopowders were successfully prepared by using the microwave plasma synthesis method. The processing conditions can be tuned to manipulate the particle size of the nanopowders.