(182a) Scalable Manufacturing of Nanostructured Materials for Energy Applications Using Gas Phase Deposition

Nanostructured solids (for example, core-shell nanoparticles or porous micro-particles containing nanoparticles) hold great potential for energy applications, including catalysis and energy storage. However, to come from product design incorporating nanostructuring to actually making such materials at relevant scales is not trivial. Gas phase deposition using techniques such as chemical vapour deposition (CVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD), and molecular layer deposition (MLD) can be used to provide the surface of a particle with either an ultrathin continuous coating or a decoration of nanoclusters. This allows us to take benefit from the vast range of chemistries that has been developed over the years for CVD, ALD, and MLD.

Gas phase deposition is also attractive for the potential to manufacture nanostructured particles on a large scale when implemented in a system where particles are suspended in the gas phase, such as a fluidized bed or a pneumatic transport reactor. Even nanopowders can be processed using this method, although they form very dilute agglomerates and are not fluidized as individual particles. Since we often process cohesive materials, an effort has been made to obtain proper dispersion of the particles.

In this presentation, experimental evidence will be given of the benefits of applying gas phase deposition to powders. The application to various areas of catalysis will be discussed, such as TiO₂ modified with SiO₂ and Pt for photocatalysis [1], and mixed Pt/Pd particles for electrocatalysis [2]. I will also show how gas phase deposition can be deployed to enhance the lifetime of catalysts. We conclude that combining gas phase deposition with suspending particles either in a fluidized bed reactor or in a pneumatic transport reactor is an attractive way to combine nanoscale precision with producing large amounts of catalytic materials.

[1] Benz, D., Van Bui, H., Hintzen, H. T., Kreutzer, M. T., & van Ommen, J. R. (2022). Mechanistic insight into the improved photocatalytic degradation of dyes for an ultrathin coating of SiO2 on TiO2 (P25) nanoparticles. Chemical Engineering Journal Advances, 10, 100288.

[2] Li, M., Fu, S., Saedy, S., Rajendrakumar, A., Tichelaar, F. D., Kortlever, R., & van Ommen, J. R. (2022). Nanostructuring Pt‐Pd Bimetallic Electrocatalysts for CO2 Reduction Using Atmospheric Pressure Atomic Layer Deposition. ChemCatChem, e202200949.