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Flame volume synthesis of carbon-coated WO3 nanoplatelets and nanorods

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Abstract

This paper reports the flame synthesis of WO3/C organic/inorganic octagonal nanoplatelets and nanorods. A high-purity tungsten wire inserted into the oxygen-rich region of the flame was used as a material source. The growth of the formed nanostructures starts with the oxidation of the metal probe, and evaporation of the oxide layer which is followed by the transport of the tungsten oxide vapors from the oxygen-rich to the hydrocarbon-rich zone of the flame. In the oxygen-rich zone, tungsten oxide vapors are crystallized into well-defined single crystal octagonal nanoplatelets. The continuous vapor deposition leads to the nanoplatelet growth in a preferred direction resulting in elongated rod-like nanostructures. The tungsten oxide structures entering the hydrocarbon-rich zone of the flame are coated with carbon layers forming hybrid WO3/C nanomaterials. The ideal conditions for the rapid and direct formation of these novel nanostructures are attributed to the synergy of the strong thermal and chemical gradients present in the flame volume. The entire process takes only a few seconds. A proposed mechanism of the hybridization process of the WO3 nanorods and nanoplatelets to WO3/C is described.

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Acknowledgments

The support of this work by the National Science Foundation through the Collaborative Research Grants CTS-0854433 and CTS-0854006 is gratefully acknowledged. The authors would like to extend special thanks to Dr. Alan Nicholls and Dr. Ke-Bin Low from the UIC Research Resource Center for assistance in TEM studies, encouragement, and helpful discussions. We would also like to thank Mr. Gregory Strout from the Samuel Roberts Noble Electron Microscopy Laboratory at the University of Oklahoma for help with high-resolution studies on the JEOL-2010F field emission TEM. We would also like to thank Dr. Andrew Madden from the School of Geology and Geophysics at the University of Oklahoma for help with XRD analyses.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA

    Wilson Merchan-Merchan, Sergio Granados Sanmiguel & Moien Farmahini Farahani

  2. Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA

    Alexei V. Saveliev

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  1. Wilson Merchan-Merchan
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  2. Alexei V. Saveliev
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  3. Sergio Granados Sanmiguel
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  4. Moien Farmahini Farahani
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Correspondence to Wilson Merchan-Merchan.

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Merchan-Merchan, W., Saveliev, A.V., Sanmiguel, S.G. et al. Flame volume synthesis of carbon-coated WO3 nanoplatelets and nanorods. J Nanopart Res 14, 1276 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-012-1276-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-012-1276-8

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