Insoluble Network Skeleton and Soluble Components of Nylon 6,6-Sputtered Nanoparticles: Insights from Liquid-State and Solid-State NMR Analysis.

In this study, we performed a detailed analysis of -sputtered-nylon 6,6 plasma polymer nanoparticles (NPs). Following a previous study using standard techniques such as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, we employed unconventional approaches, specifically solid- and liquid-state high-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, supplemented by gel permeation chromatography (GPC). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was also used to examine changes in the size of the NPs after contact with solvents and after heating.

Mechanical time-of-flight filter based on slotted disks and helical rotor for measurement of velocities of nanoparticles.

A mechanical time-of-flight filter intended for measurement of velocities of nanoparticles exiting a gas aggregation source has been developed. Several configurations maximizing simplicity, throughput or resolution are suggested and investigated both theoretically and experimentally. It is shown that the data measured using such filters may be easily converted to the real velocity distribution with high precision.

Magnetron Sputtering of Polymeric Targets: From Thin Films to Heterogeneous Metal/Plasma Polymer Nanoparticles.

Magnetron sputtering is a well-known technique that is commonly used for the deposition of thin compact films. However, as was shown in the 1990s, when sputtering is performed at pressures high enough to trigger volume nucleation/condensation of the supersaturated vapor generated by the magnetron, various kinds of nanoparticles may also be produced. This finding gave rise to the rapid development of magnetron-based gas aggregation sources.

Magnetron-sputtered copper nanoparticles: lost in gas aggregation and found by in situ X-ray scattering.

Magnetron discharge in a cold buffer gas represents a liquid-free approach to the synthesis of metal nanoparticles (NPs) with tailored structure, chemical composition and size. Despite a large number of metal NPs that were successfully produced by this method, the knowledge of the mechanisms of their nucleation and growth in the discharge is still limited, mainly because of the lack of in situ experimental data. In this work, we present the results of in situ Small Angle X-ray Scattering measurements performed in the vicinity of a Cu magnetron target with Ar used as a buffer gas.

Advances and challenges in the field of plasma polymer nanoparticles.

This contribution reviews plasma polymer nanoparticles produced by gas aggregation cluster sources either via plasma polymerization of volatile monomers or via radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering of conventional polymers. The formation of hydrocarbon, fluorocarbon, silicon- and nitrogen-containing plasma polymer nanoparticles as well as core@shell nanoparticles based on plasma polymers is discussed with a focus on the development of novel nanostructured surfaces.

Single-step generation of metal-plasma polymer multicore@shell nanoparticles from the gas phase.

Nanoparticles composed of multiple silver cores and a plasma polymer shell (multicore@shell) were prepared in a single step with a gas aggregation cluster source operating with Ar/hexamethyldisiloxane mixtures and optionally oxygen. The size distribution of the metal inclusions as well as the chemical composition and the thickness of the shells were found to be controlled by the composition of the working gas mixture. Shell matrices ranging from organosilicon plasma polymer to nearly stoichiometric SiO were obtained.