AAAR 34th Annual Conference
October 12 - October 16, 2015
Hyatt Regency
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Abstract View
Synthesis of Titanium Dioxide Aerosol Gel Using a Negative Gravity Diffusion Flame Reactor
PAI LIU, Ian Arnold, Yang Yu, Rajan Chakrabarty, Washington University in St Louis
Abstract Number: 378 Working Group: Nanoparticles and Materials Synthesis
Abstract Aerosol gels are a novel material with potential on serving various energy and environmental applications. In this work, we demonstrated the synthesis of a TiO2 aerosol gel using a diffusion flame aerosol reactor operated in a negative gravity configuration. Control of the material properties, such as primary particle size and crystal phase, was achieved with properly adjusting flame conditions. The methane-oxygen flame temperature was measured to be 1250 degree Celsius without nitrogen dilution; the addition of nitrogen dilution gas decreased the flame temperature to as low as 590 degree Celsius without losing its distinct structure and aerosol trapping effect, which favors aerosol gelation. TiO2 aerosol gels were synthesized by delivering titanium isopropoxide(TTIP) to the flame for high and low temperature conditions. Properties of the TiO2 aerosol gel were investigated with a wide variety of characterization methods. Results showed that TiO2 aerosol gels synthesized in those two conditions demonstrate distinct primary particle size and crystal phase.