Synthesis and properties of nanofunctionalized particulate materials

A wide range of advanced technology for existing and emerging products base d on high temperature metal-ceramic composites used in aircrafts, cutting t ools, lithium-ion based rechargeable batteries, superconductors, field emis sion based flat-panel displays, etc. employ micron to submicron sized (0.1 -10 microns) particulate precursors in their manufacturing process. Althoug h there has been a significant emphasis given to control of the particle ch aracteristics (shape, size, surface chemistry, adsorption, etc.), relativel y little or no attention has been paid to concomitant designing desirable s urface and bulk properties at the particulate level, which can ultimately l ead to enhanced properties of the product. By attaching atomic to nano-size d inorganic, multi-elemental clusters either in discrete or continuous form onto the surface of the core particles, i.e nano-functionalization of the particulate surface, materials and products with significantly enhanced pro perties can be obtained. In this paper, we demonstrate the synthesis of art ificially structured, nano-functionalized particulate materials with unique optical cathodoluminescent, superconducting and electrical properties. In this paper, we show the feasibility of the pulsed laser ablation technique to make very thin, uniformly distributed and discrete coatings in particula te systems so that the properties of the core particles can be suitably mod ified Experiments were conducted for laser deposition on Al2O3, SiO2, core particles by pulsed excimer laser (wavelength = 248 nm and pulse duration = 25 nanosecond) by irradiation of a Ag and Y2O3:Eu3+ targets. (C) 1999 Acta Metallurgica Inc.