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Nanoparticles by Laser Ablation of Bulk Target Materials in Liquids

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Handbook of Nanoparticles

Abstract

The debris which is generated following laser ablation of a bulk target material by an intense laser beam consists under certain conditions of nanoparticles. This technique has been established and developed especially in the last few years as an alternative method for the synthesis of nanoparticles with desired physicochemical and structural properties in the same way as other techniques such as colloidal chemistry, electrochemistry, spark current decomposition, and others are used for that purpose. In case the target material is immersed in liquid, a nanoparticle colloidal solution is formed. The main advantages of this method are that it does not require the use of chemical precursors for nanomaterial synthesis, it produces nanoparticle colloidal solutions which are stable without the need of adding into them any stabilizing surfactants and nanoparticles with bare (ligand-free) surfaces which are highly surface active, and it allows for an in situ functionalization of the synthesized nanoparticles with the desired ligands. In addition, the ablation plasma plume experiences an additional compression by the liquid which may result in the formation of nanoparticles which are characterized by metastable material phases, difficult or impossible to be produced by other methods. This chapter outlines the fundamental principles of the method and reviews the synthesis of nanoparticles out of different materials ranging from metals to semiconductors and ceramics, techniques for adjusting the sizes and size distribution of the nanoparticles such as particle fragmentation, the synthesis of alloy nanoparticles and magnetic nanoparticles, issues of productivity scaling up, and the synthesis of other nanomaterials.

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  1. Department of Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, 54124, Greece

    N. G. Semaltianos

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  1. Department of Materials Engineering, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

    Mahmood Aliofkhazraei

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Semaltianos, N.G. (2016). Nanoparticles by Laser Ablation of Bulk Target Materials in Liquids. In: Aliofkhazraei, M. (eds) Handbook of Nanoparticles. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15338-4_1

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