Production of chain agglomerations of nano-scale metal particles

• Main Author: MERCURI, ROBERT A
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 29.12.2010
• Subjects: CASTING; CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; CHEMISTRY; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATIONOR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY IONIMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION INGENERAL; MAKING METALLIC POWDER; MANUFACTURE OF ARTICLES FROM METALLIC POWDER; METALLURGY; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; POWDER METALLURGY; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THESURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; TRANSPORTING; WORKING METALLIC POWDER

The present invention relates to a process and an apparatus (10) for the production of chain agglomerations of nano-scale metal particles. Production is preferably carried out in an energy and time efficient way. Metal particles organized in an elongate arrangement are produced by feeding at least one decomposable moiety selected from the group consisting of organometallic compounds, metal complexes, metal coordination compounds and mixtures thereof into a reactor vessel (20). Within this vessel the decomposable moiety is exposed to a source of energy such that by exposition to a sufficient quantity of energy the metallic component can aggregate in chain agglomerations. These elongated nano-scale metal particles are deposited on substrates or collected in a cyclonic or centrifugal collector for storage or further use.