Abstract
Flame-synthesized carbon nanoparticles of varying sizes were produced in premixed stretch-stabilized stagnation flames under various sooting conditions. Thermophoretic velocities and particle residence times were calculated for each flame configuration. Soot volume fractions and particle-size distribution functions were measured in a series of five atmospheric-pressure ethylene–oxygen–nitrogen flames with maximum temperatures ranging from 1969 to 2132 K. The optical band-gap measurements for the flame-synthesized carbon nanoparticles were taken from the literature elsewhere and analyzed as a function of median mobility diameter. The results from the present study suggest a strong dependence of the optical bandgap on particle size. It is shown that quantum confinement effects, which arise due to the finite size of the particles, play an essential role in determining the final absolute value of the optical bandgap. Flame-formed carbon nanoparticles were found to exhibit quantum confinement behaviors. Flame-synthesized carbon nanoparticles in the 3–15 nm range exhibit interesting optical band-gap behavior and can be used as quantum dots for renewable energy applications.
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Abbreviations
- \(\langle {D}_{m,2}\rangle\) :
-
Median mobility diameter for the large particle-size mode (nm)
- \({F}_{v}\) :
-
Soot volume fraction (-)
- \(L\) :
-
Overall distance between the stagnation plate and the burner nozzle exit (cm)
- \({L}_{s}\) :
-
Flame standoff distance (cm)
- \({N}_{2}\) :
-
Number density for the large particle-size mode (cm−3)
- \({T}_{f,\mathrm{max}}\) :
-
Maximum flame temperature (K)
- \({T}_{n}\) :
-
Nozzle exit temperature (K)
- \({T}_{s}\) :
-
Stagnation plate temperature (K)
- \(\psi\) :
-
Momentum accommodation factor (-)
- \(k\) :
-
Stefan Boltzmann constant (Wm−2 K−4)
- \({t}_{p}\) :
-
Particle residence time (ms)
- \({v}_{c}\) :
-
Convective velocity (ms−1)
- \({v}_{0}\) :
-
Velocity of the unburnt gas (ms−1)
- \({v}_{th}\) :
-
Thermophoretic velocity (ms−1)
- \({v}_{p}\) :
-
Particle velocity (ms−1)
- \({x}_{f}\) :
-
Peak flame temperature location (cm)
- \(a\) :
-
Global strain rate (s−1)
- \({\sigma }_{g,2}\) :
-
Geometric standard deviation for the large particle-size mode (-)
- \(\lambda\) :
-
Thermal conductivity of the gas phase (Wm−1 K−1)
- PAH:
-
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon
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The authors acknowledge the financial support of the IITK startup grant (Grant # IITK/AE/2017331).
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Iyer, M.S.K., Patil, S. & Singh, A.V. Flame Synthesis of Functional Carbon Nanoparticles. Trans Indian Natl. Acad. Eng. 7, 787–807 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41403-022-00329-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41403-022-00329-z