Metrology for Electroceramic Nanopowder Characterisation and Zinc Oxide Synthesis using the Segmented Flow Tubular Reactor (NANOMETRO)

• Research unit: COST
• Project number: C06.0062

Key words (English)

metrology; particle size measurement; nanosized; agglomeration; nanotechnology; precipitation; scale-up; powder characterisation; zinc oxide

Research programs (English)

COST-Action 539 - Electroceramics from Nanopowders Produced by Innovative Methods

Short description (English)

See abstract

Partners and International Organizations (English)

BE, BG, CH, CZ, DE, ES, FR, GR, HU, IT, LT, NO, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SI, SK, UK

Abstract (English)

The project aims at providing standard procedures for the extremely important task of characterising nanosized powders destined for application in electroceramics. The capacity to correctly and reproducibly characterize powders that issue from the non-conventional synthesis approaches at the heart of the Cost Action 539 (short name -ELENA) is an essential key for their successful and safe application. The powder characteristics need to be measured correctly as they touch upon 3 extremely important aspects; i) powder synthesis ii) production and properties of electroceramics iii) health and safety during handling and application lifetime. This project will develop methdology in close collaboration with other international actions (e.g ASTM committee E56). Nanoparticle characterisation protocols will allow synthesis routes to be evaluated and optimised, forming and sintering of optimised powders will lead to the highest quality electroceramics with nanosized microstructures and new exciting properties. The protocols will also help evaluate the health and safety aspects as the powders will be well defined characterised products. The powder technology laboratory (LTP) has over 10 years of experience in nanopowder synthesis and characterisation and will use this know-how to provide protocols so that the whole project can have consistent and reliable data for the materials of interest. Also during the past 15 years LTP has developed a Segmented Flow Tubular Reactor (SFTR) which allows the production of kg size batches needed for full testing of new nanosized powders. All too often what can be produced at the gramme level is rarely transposed to the kg level for thorough testing at the pilot industrial level invariably because of scaling-up problems. These new powders powders remain discoveries but do not become the technical innovations of the future. The SFTR overcomes this problem by segmenting the reactants into microreactors in a continuous tubular process that has successfully produced 7kg batches of narrow size distribution nanosized BaTiO3. The SFTR will be used to produce high quality nanopowders of ZnO that promise to be the basis of the next generation of high-voltage varistors.

References in databases (English)

Swiss Database: COST-DB of the State Secretariat for Education and Research Hallwylstrasse 4 CH-3003 Berne, Switzerland Tel. [phone] Swiss Project-Number: C06.0062