SPP 1980: Sprayflame Synthesis
Type of Funding: DFG Programmes, Priority Programmes
Abstract:
Sprayflame synthesis offers a promising approach for the production of functional nanomaterials. The viability of this route has already been proven for a wide range of materials on the laboratory scale. Compared to existing large-scale methods for nanomaterials synthesis in pure gas-phase processes, the sprayflame synthesis provides access to an abundance of additional materials, which cannot be produced with other processes. The actual industrial application of sprayflame synthesis has failed so far due to the necessity of using expensive starting materials and a lack of understanding of the process. This situation should be overcome by an interdisciplinary approach within the SPP1980 which lays the foundations for practical applications of sprayflame synthesis. The chances for this are excellent within an interdisciplinary collaborative network that links recent developments on experimental, theoretical, and simulation techniques that have been previously used in their individual research disciplines. Their combination will allow to analyze and describe the underlying sub-processes. The aim of this priority program is to develop the fundamental understanding and the simulation capabilities for of sprayflame synthesis processes and to establish an interdisciplinary research network. Sub-processes will be analyzed and their understanding will be integrated into a comprehensive model that provides the chance for the development of processes that are based on inexpensive starting materials and that can be scaled-up to an industrial scale for the targeted production of materials with a wide range of properties.
This approach is based on the development and application of specific in situ analytical methods, the preparation of chemical mechanisms by fundamental kinetics experiments and theoretical calculations, and a comprehensive simulation of the underlying process chain precursor solution – spray – flame – particles. Of central importance are the development and application of a standardized experiment – the so-called SpraySyn burner – which is to be established as a reference experiment with a comprehensive validation data set. It will serve as an anchor point for the research and development of particle synthesis in sprayflames.
Downstream processes for morphological modification of the product initially formed and the study of isolated individual aspects are not part of SPP.
The Priority Program is divided into thematic blocks
- In-situ diagnostics
- Theory and simulation
- Processes
Contact Person at UA Ruhr:
Prof. Dr. Christof Schulz, University of Duisburg-Essen