Multidimensional nature of fluidized nanoparticle agglomerates.

We show that fluidized nanoparticle agglomerates are hierarchical fractal structures with three fractal dimensions: one characterizing sintered aggregates formed during nanoparticle synthesis, one that is also found in stored agglomerates and represents unbroken agglomerates, and one describing the large agglomerates broken during fluidization. This has been possible by using spin-echo small-angle neutron scattering-a relatively novel technique that, for the first time, allowed to characterize in situ the structure of fluidized nanoparticle agglomerates from 21 nm to ∼20 μm. The results show that serial agglomeration mechanisms in the gas phase can generate nanoparticle clusters with different fractal dimensions, contradicting the common approach that considers fluidized nanoparticle agglomerates as single fractals, in analogy to the agglomerates formed by micron-sized particles.

The role of the hydrogen bond in dense nanoparticle-gas suspensions.

The effect of surface characteristics on the interaction between nanoparticles and their agglomeration in dense gas suspensions is still not fully understood. It is known that when the surface is covered with hydroxyl groups, the interaction between nanoparticles becomes substantially stronger than in the absence of these groups; this strengthening is typically attributed to the formation of capillary bridges between the particles. However, this work shows that part of the increase of the interaction is due to the direct hydrogen bonds formed between the surfaces of the polar particles.