Design of Particulate Products – Continuous Synthesis, Nanoparticle Chromatography and Multidimensional Characterization

Today, particle technology moves forward from careful control of “only” particle size to systems with higher complexity, i.e. shape, surface, structure and composition, both on the level of single particles and particle ensembles. The applications define the required product properties, which cover both classical fields of process technology in the chemical industry as well as new emerging fields of electronics, energy and environmental technologies, life sciences, materials science, nanotechnology and photonic technologies. We highlight aspects of these trends by focusing on synthesis, property classification and multidimensional characterization of nanoparticle systems. These are integrated into well-defined structures of mesocrystals, supraparticles and thin functional films, all with interesting functional properties.

Based on unifying principles for the formation of particulate products, which are widely applicable to many different kinds of products including solid, liquid, and even gaseous particles, we discuss options for scalable production. Despite the amazing progress in lab-scale material synthesis, the transfer to industrial application is much less developed and is still a limiting challenge. By careful consideration of the driving forces for particle formation in batch and continuous systems, we show how scaling laws can be derived and applied to several material classes including noble metal, semiconductor and drug nanoparticles. Any process design is closely related to careful characterization of the evolving structures, at best applied directly in the process. Typically, synthesis is coupled to purification, fractionation and formulation. In particular, property classification is a major challenge. For the latter, we present recent results for size- and shape-selective nanoparticle chromatography. Examples of product design related to optical properties as studied in the collaborative research center “Design of Particulate Products” will be highlighted.

Funding of CRC1411 (https://www.crc1411.research.fau.eu/) by DFG is gratefully acknowledged.