Department of Chemical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States.
Nano Lett. 2023 Jun 28;23(12):5541-5547. doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.3c00908. Epub 2023 Jun 8.
Extracting the maximum chemical energy from aluminum nanoparticles (Al NPs) during oxidation is essential for their use in energetic applications. However, the shell of native AlO limits the release of chemical energy by acting as a diffusion barrier and dead weight. Engineering the surface properties of Al NPs by modifying their shell chemistry can reduce the inhibiting effects of the oxide shell on the rate and heat release of oxidation. Here, we employ nonthermal hydrogen plasma at high power and a short time to alter the shell chemistry by doping it with Al-H, as examined and confirmed by HRTEM, FTIR, and XPS. Thermal analysis (TGA/DSC) shows that Al NPs with modified surfaces exhibit augmented oxidation and heat release (33% higher than those of untreated Al NPs). The results demonstrate the promising effect of nonthermal hydrogen plasma in engineering the shell chemistry of Al NPs to improve their overall energetic performance during oxidation.
从铝纳米颗粒（Al NPs）的氧化中提取最大的化学能量对于它们在能量应用中的使用至关重要。然而，原生 AlO 壳作为扩散障碍和死重，限制了化学能量的释放。通过改变其壳层化学性质来工程化 Al NPs 的表面性能，可以降低氧化物壳对氧化速率和放热的抑制作用。在这里，我们采用高功率和短时间的非热氢等离子体，通过掺杂 Al-H 来改变壳层化学性质，如 HRTEM、FTIR 和 XPS 所检查和证实的。热分析（TGA/DSC）表明，表面改性的 Al NPs 表现出增强的氧化和放热（比未处理的 Al NPs 高 33%）。结果表明，非热氢等离子体在工程化 Al NPs 的壳层化学性质方面具有很大的应用潜力，可以提高它们在氧化过程中的整体能量性能。
