Production of nanopowders of metal oxides by evaporation in the pulsed electron beam

Abstract

Based on practical experience, the installation for production of metal oxide nanopowders is updated. The method involves evaporation of the target by a pulsed electron beam, condensation of the vapors of the material in a low-pressure gas, and deposition of nanopowders on a cold large-area crystallizer. In a new installation, a higher-power electron gun with a hollow cathode, which ensures the formation of the current pulse of the electron beam with an amplitude up to 1 A and a duration of 100 μs, and a crystallizer of a larger diameter (0.3 m) and length (0.5 m), which makes it possible to decrease the agglomeration of nanoparticles, are used. The results of the evaporation of targets made of YSZ and CeGdO _x are presented. The proposed method makes it possible to obtain nanopowders of oxides with a characteristic particle size of 3–5 nm and agglomerates consisting of them 20–600 nm in size, specific surfaces of up to 250 m²/g, productivity of up to 10 g/h, and a specific power consumption ≥120 (W h)/g.