Publications by authors named "Chris Y Lau"

Absolute kinetics for reactions of C2H2 with a series of ∼60 individual carbon nanoparticles (NPs) from graphite, graphene, graphene oxide, carbon black, diamond, and nano-onion feedstocks were measured for temperatures (TNP) ranging from 1200 to 1700 K. All the NPs were observed to gain mass by carbon addition under conditions that varied with feedstock but with large variations in initial growth rate. Long reaction periods were studied to allow the evolution of growth rates over time to be observed.

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O oxidation and sublimation kinetics for >30 individual nanoparticles (NPs) of five different feedstocks (graphite, graphene oxide, carbon black, diamond, and nano-onion) were measured using single-NP mass spectrometry at temperatures () in the 1100-2900 K range. It was found that oxidation, studied in the 1200-1600 K range, is highly sensitive to the NP surface structure, with etching efficiencies (EE) varying by up to 4 orders of magnitude, whereas sublimation rates, significant only for ≥ ∼1700 K, varied by only a factor of ∼3. Its sensitivity to the NP surface structure makes O etching a good real-time structure probe, which was used to follow the evolution of the NP surface structures over time as they were either etched or annealed at high .

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A single nanoparticle (NP) mass spectrometry method was used to measure sublimation rates as a function of nanoparticle temperature (T) for sets of individual graphite and graphene NPs. Initially, the NP sublimation rates were ∼400 times faster than those for bulk graphite, and there were large NP-to-NP variations. Over time, the rates slowed substantially, though they remained well above the bulk rate.

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We discuss the design of an optical system that allows measurement of 600-1650 nm emission spectra for individual nanoparticles (NPs), laser-heated in an electrodynamic trap in controlled atmospheres. An approach to calibration of absolute intensity versus wavelength for very low emission intensities is discussed, and examples of NP graphite and carbon black spectra are used to illustrate the methodology.

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