Product Code: ICAL09_N203

Production and Electrostatic Stabilization of Corundum Nanoparticles During Laser Ablation in Acidic Liquids
Authors:
Ramin Sattari, -; -
Xulia Fidalgo Naveira, -; -
Csaba Laszlo Sajti, -; -
Stephan Barcikowski, Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V.; -
Presented at ICALEO 2009

Laser ablation of target materials directly in a liquid phase is a versatile method allowing the generation of nanoparticle colloids of a great variety of materials. Especially, generation of hard ceramic nanoparticles by the laser ablation method yield significant advantages compared to chemical synthesis or mechanical milling and grinding techniques. The controlled local deposition of pulsed laser energy allows the generation of size-controlled high purity corundum (alpha alumina oxide) nanoparticles dispersed in the liquid phase without using chemical precursors. However, in-situ stabilization of corundum nanoparticle colloids is not established yet for the laser ablation method. We observed stabilization of corundum nanoparticles (60 nm - 130 nm of average hydrodynamic particle size) dispersed in an aqueous solution of pH 3 to 4, adjusted by nitric acid, resulted in electrostatic stabilization of synthesized ceramic particles. Furthermore, the alpha crystal structure of raw material was maintained during the formation of primary ceramic aluminum oxide nanoparticles. Stabilized particle mass concentration of 3.1 g/L using 8.25 mJ laser pulse energy at 3 kHz laser repetition rate was achieved. Under these conditions, we determined zeta-potential between +32 mV to +70 mV, where the zeta-potential is directly related to the long-term stability of particles in the suspension.