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Atmospheric pressure chemical vapour synthesis of silicon–carbon nanoceramics from hexamethyldisilane in high temperature aerosol reactor

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Abstract

Silicon–carbon nanoceramics have been synthesised from hexamethyldisilane (HMDS) by the atmospheric pressure chemical vapour synthesis (APCVS). Direct aerosol phase synthesis enables continuous production of high purity materials in one-stage process. The particle formation is based on the decomposition of the precursor in a high temperature reactor. Reaction of the gas phase species leads to homogeneous nucleation and formation of the nanoparticles with a narrow size distribution (geometric mean diameter range of particle number size distribution 160–200 nm with 1.5–1.6 geometric standard deviation at reaction temperatures 800–1200 °C). A systematic investigation of the influence of the process temperature on the powder characteristics, including the particle size, crystallinity, chemical structure, surface and bulk composition and surface morphology, was carried out. At the reactor temperature of 800 °C, the synthesised nanoparticles were amorphous preceramics containing mostly SiC4, Si–CH2–Si and Si–H units. The composition of the powder turned towards nanocrystalline 3C–SiC (crystal size under 2 nm) when the reaction temperature was increased to 1200 °C. The reaction temperature appeared to be a key parameter controlling the structure and properties of the synthesised powders.

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (TEKES) in the Active Nanocomposite Materials project (40072/08), Academy of Finland decision numbers 118114 (in the FinNano research program) and 122314, and Center of Economic Development, Transport and the Environment/European Social Fund in the SMARC innovations project (S10286). Research has been supported also by the strategic funding of the University of Eastern Finland.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fine Particle and Aerosol Technology Laboratory, Department of Environmental Science, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 1627, 70211, Kuopio, Finland

    M. Miettinen, J. Jokiniemi & A. Lähde

  2. Laboratory of Inorganic Chemistry, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Åbo Akademi, Biskopsgatan 8, 20500, Åbo, Finland

    M. Johansson

  3. Department of Chemistry, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 111, 80101, Joensuu, Finland

    S. Suvanto & T. T. Pakkanen

  4. Department of Applied Physics, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 1627, 70211, Kuopio, Finland

    J. Riikonen & V.-P. Lehto

  5. Fine Particles, Technical Research Centre of Finland, P.O. Box 1000, 02044 VTT, Espoo, Finland

    U. Tapper & J. Jokiniemi

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  1. M. Miettinen
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  2. M. Johansson
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  3. S. Suvanto
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  4. J. Riikonen
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  5. U. Tapper
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  6. T. T. Pakkanen
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  7. V.-P. Lehto
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  8. J. Jokiniemi
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  9. A. Lähde
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Correspondence to M. Miettinen.

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Miettinen, M., Johansson, M., Suvanto, S. et al. Atmospheric pressure chemical vapour synthesis of silicon–carbon nanoceramics from hexamethyldisilane in high temperature aerosol reactor. J Nanopart Res 13, 4631–4645 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-011-0427-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-011-0427-7

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