About the Multidisciplinary Seminar Program
Created in 1995, the Escola Tecnica Superior d'Enginyeria Quimica (ETSEQ) at Universitat Rovira i Virgili aims at becoming an international reference in chemical engineering education and research. The ETSEQ is located in an area that is socially and economically very dynamic, and that is home to one of the most important centers of chemical industry in southern Europe.
The Multidisciplinary Seminar Program is both the seminar series for faculty and researchers in the ETSEQ, and a mandatory class for its graduate students. The Program aims at inviting leading international researchers working on areas that are of interest to faculty and researchers in the School.
Learn moreNext seminar (Feb. 10, 2012)
Manufacturing Core-Shell Nanoparticles by Atomic Layer Deposition in a Fluidized Bed (Ruud van Ommen)
Location: Sala de Graus, ETSEQ
Start time: 12 p.m.
Abstract:
Core-shell nanoparticles have high potential in heterogeneous catalysis, energy storage, and medical applications. Currently, such particles are mainly synthesized in the liquid phase. However, gas phase methods offer several inherent advantages: (1) the absence of solvent waste; (2) a clean particle surface which may be desirable for applications such as catalysis; (3) the feasibility of continuous processing as opposed to batch processing in the liquid phase; (4) a better potential for scaling-up; (5) the versatility of these processes with respect to particle material and size and structure.
Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD), an advanced type of Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD), can provide particles with an ultra-thin, uniform layer. CVD is typically used for coating in the µm range, whereas ALD can make coatings in the nm or even Å range. ALD is different from CVD in that the chemistry is split into two half-reactions: the different reactant gases are fed to the sample consecutively rather than simultaneously. The number of times the half-reactions are repeated, determines the final thickness of the coating layer. In this way, excellent control over the layer thickness is achieved. This approach is not just applicable to stagnant, flat substrates, but also to moving nanoparticles.
Nanopowders can be suspended in an upward gas phase, they can be fluidized. They are not fluidized individually but as agglomerates: very dilute clusters of around 200 µm. The very open structure of the nanoparticle agglomerates enables the coating of individual nanoparticles with ALD in a fluidized bed. In the presentation, I will discuss the fundamental questions related to nanoparticle ALD, and the opportunities for practical applications.
More about the next seminar Email announcementUpcoming seminars
- Feb. 17, 2012 - Process Design via CFD Analysis in Carbothermic Aluminium and Slag Fiberization (Dimitrios I. Gerogiorgis)
- Feb. 24, 2012 - Sustainable consumption and production (Guido Sonnemann)
- March 2, 2012 - How Universities Become Rich: Patents or Papers? (José Luis Herce)
- March 9, 2012 - Catalytic multiphase microreactors: design, operation and scale-up (Evgeny Rebrov)
