Plasma spray synthesis of nanomaterial powders and deposits

Conventional plasma spraying was used to process atomized liquid droplets of precursor solutions to produce alumina, zirconia and yttria stabilized zirconia nanoparticles and deposits. An electrostatic precipitator collected the plasma synthesized ceramic particles at a rate of ~0.2 mg s−1, with ~5–20% collection efficiency. Spray processing produced 1–50 nm size ceramic particles. The size, shape and phase composition of the nanomaterials depend on the spray feedstock. Organo-metallic precursors gave rise to a narrow range of fine-grained material, while aqueous solutions produced wider distributions of larger size grains. Spray processing of liquid feedstock produced nanodeposits with a powdery morphology. Plasma spraying of liquid precursors is a viable technique to produce nanoparticles and deposits.