Arc Plasma Synthesis of Nanostructured Materials: Techniques and Innovations

Arc plasma aided synthesis of nanostructured materials has the potential of producing complex nano phase structures in bulk quantities. Successful implementation of this potential capability to industrial scale nano generation needs establishment of a plasma parameter control regime in terms of plasma gas, flow pattern, pressure, local temperature and the plasma fields to obtain the desired nano phase structures. However, there is a need to design innovative in situ experiments for generation of an extensive database and subsequently to correlate plasma parameters to the size, shape and phase of the generated nanostructures. The present paper reviews the various approaches utilized in the field of arc plasma nano synthesis in general and in the authors' laboratories in particular. Simple plasma diagnostics and monitoring schemes have been used in conjunction with nano materials characterization tools to explore the possibility of controlling the size, shape, yield and phase composition of the arc generated nanostructures through plasma control. Case studies related to synthesis of AIN, Al2O3, TiO2, ZrO2, ZnO), magnetic (e.g. gamma-Fe2O3, Fe3O4) and single elemental materials (e.g. carbon nanotubes) are presented.