Fine Particle Synthesis and Coating

Abstract

Over the past decade tremendous advances have been made in the preparation and characterization of materials having enhanced chemical and physical properties. To achieve such goals, engineers and scientists from a variety of disciplines have generated and prioritized volumes of information in order to solve requirements posed by manufacturers. It is now axiomatic with investigators that when powders are to be employed at some stage in the processing, next-generation materials can become a reality only if the composition, morphology and surface characteristics of the individual particles are better defined and understood. Electrical and thermal conduction, color fastness, mechanical strength and corrosion resistance are a few of the properties which depend on the interfacial interactions between particles and the matricies in which they are immersed. Research in the author’s laboratory has been focused on creating new and useful composite particles with surfaces tailored to withstand more harsh chemical and mechanical challenges, and this article summarizes the salient features of some of the systems studied and techniques developed. Full experimental details of most of the coating processes described can be found in the literature. For clarity, the presentation is divided into two main sections by technique employed.