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In this study, the variations of spray characteristics are tested with air-assisted siphon type different size liquid atomizers. The spray characteristics are analyzed considering three atomizers having the same inlet diameter, with different constricted areas and exit diameters for the flow rates of 42, 57, and 71l pm. Three different mixtures of Oleic Acid with Ethanol, and three different mixtures of Di-Octyl Phthalate (DOP) with Ethanol are employed as working fluids along with the six different suction heights. Experimental outcomes show that, for the same flow rates, solution, and suction height, the droplet size changes by varying the diameter of the constricted area and exit area. The change of any area in atomizer changes the level of turbulence in flow that results in the variation of droplet size and its distribution. The increasing flow rate also assists in increasing the droplet size. Since the droplet size distribution decreases with the increasing viscosity, the use of DOP and Ethanol mixture increases the droplet size as it is more viscous than the Oleic Acid and Ethanol mixture. It is also noticed that at a constant airflow rate, Number Median Aerodynamic Diameter (NMAD), and liquid consumption rate are inversely proportional, whereas the Geometrical Standard Deviation (GSD) and Mass Median Aerodynamic Diameter (MMAD) is directly proportional to the suction height.

A real-time quantitative analytical approach, differential mobility analysis coupled to gas-phase Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (DMA/FTIR), is demonstrated for an aerosol spray-based synt...

Aerosol spray coupled with high-temperature pyrolysis is an emerging technique for continuous manufacturing of nanomaterials at large scale that demonstrates extremely high production efficiency. Current aerosol spray techniques using a tube furnace can only attain a low temperature range (generally 95%), during which salt decomposition and particle nucleation/growth occur. The high temperature critically enables homogeneous mixing of elements in the resultant nanoparticles and the short residence time is key to suppress particle growth and agglomeration. Compared with the traditional aerosol spray pyrolysis, the carbonized wood reactor can achieve a record high temperature (≥2000 K), a much shorter residence time (∼tens of milliseconds), highly efficient, uniform heating, and provide a platform for continuous nanomaterial manufacturing for a broad range of applications.

Chronic lung disease is commonly treated using portable inhaler systems. By design, these inhalers come into repeated contact with the mouth region of patients and are therefore subject to bacterial contamination and ingrowth. To enable the safe delivery of an aerosol from a drug reservoir of such an inhaler, the reservoir needs to be protected from pathogens. Here we demonstrate a self-sealing aerosol spray nozzle, a system that seals each spray orifice on nozzle level in its default closed state and sprays a liquid Rayleigh-jet upon actuation. The sealing mechanism is realized by placing a thin membrane with spray orifices on top of a valve seat. The membrane behavior and spray performance of the self-sealing spray chip were found to be identical to an equivalent non-sealing design. This sealing system may enable the safe reuse of spray chips for multiple spray operations over an extended period, lowering the cost of treatment while increasing patient compliance. QC 20200427

Some of the fragrance compounds in aerosols tend to remain trapped inside the droplets. The ability to capture these droplets would make it possible to desorb and transfer the analytes dissolved within for determination. In this study, we design a novel filter-incorporated needle-trap device and use it to capture fragrance compounds in droplets as well as the gas phase of seven aerosol spray samples. For comparison, thin-film and solid-phase microextraction were also employed to extract gas-phase-borne fragrances from the same sprays. The results revealed that the filter-incorporated needle-trap device enables the extraction of total concentrations due to its ability to trap fragrance-containing droplets, whereas thin-film and solid-phase microextraction are only able to extract unbound compounds present in the gas phase. In addition, the developed needle-trap device provided acceptable results, proving its applicability for the analysis of aroma in other samples, such as beer and soda.

Environmental concerns regarding the disposal of fluid lubricants have led to the application of green technologies to metalworking processes in the form of dry lubricants. These dry lubricants are typically applied as spray coatings that employ the use of nanoparticles. The possible use of graphene in the form of graphene/tungsten disulfide (G/WS2) nanoparticle spray coatings has been examined in this research. The investigation was performed through the use of ball-on-disk tests at ambient temperatures to ascertain the possible application of the aerosol spray coatings to the aluminum forming processes. The coatings proved to possess good adhesion to the Al-Mg alloy substrate. The nanoparticle spray coatings were tested at various graphene to WS2 concentrations and under varying loads. A low steady-state COF was noted for all graphene concentrations during sliding contact under all the loads examined. The durability of the coatings was observed to improve with increasing loads. The low COF was attributed to the formation of wear-induced transfer layers on the steel balls and tribolayers on the coated Al-Mg surfaces. The coating durability was related to the concentration of graphene within the nanoparticle spray coatings and the stability of the tribolayers during sliding contact. The results highlight that the G/WS2 nanoparticle spray coatings could be considered for aluminum metalworking processes.

Aerosol sprays are used in many fields because they are easy to use and low in cost. Because flash-boiling has a great influence on atomization performance and spray characteristics such as droplet diameter and spray cone angle of aerosol spray, it is necessary to adjust the flash-boiling by changing the internal design of the aerosol vessel to obtain the desired atomization performance. Therefore, spray structure formed on the outside of nozzle during both transient and steady state. with various nozzle design and internal liquid/propellant composition ratio were observed in this study. The spray development process was visualized using a high-speed camera and Nd:Yag laser was used to form a laser sheet and it illuminates the internal structure of spray at steady state. In addition, the diameter and velocity of spray droplets were measured by PDPA equipment, which uses a noninvasive method. Selected design parameters were the number of stem orifice and the diameter of under-tap of the valve and vapor phase tap, and the mass fraction of propellant inside the aerosol vessel. As the diameter of the under tap increased, the ratio of the high-density area increased. However, as the difference between the area of the under-tap orifice and the total area of the stem orifice became smaller, the spray cross section area became larger and the shape of low-density region became closer to the concentric circle. In addition, finer droplets were generated in case with large stem orifice & smaller under-tap. The Vapor Phase Tap and propellant mass fraction have the greatest influence on the atomization characteristics of all design parameters because they change the gas phase ratio inside the jet. However, higher propellant mass fraction makes more uniform droplet diameter distribution than increased vapor phase tap diameter.

Cobalt-iron oxides have attracted much attention as electrode materials for supercapacitors. Graphene loaded with cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) nanoparticles can exhibit enhanced specific capacitance. Here, we present three-dimensional (3D) crumpled graphene (CGR) loaded with CoFe2O4 nanoparticles. The CoFe2O4-graphene composites were synthesized from a colloidal mixture of GO, FeCl3⋅6H2O, and CoCl2⋅6H2O by one step aerosol spray pyrolysis. The CoFe2O4-GR composites displayed a morphology resembling a crumpled paper ball, and the size of the CoFe2O4 and CGR in the composites was around 5 nm and 500 nm, respectively. The highest specific capacitance of the CoFe2O4-graphene composites was 253 F g–1.

The high tendency of aluminum to adhere to steel has led to extensive research into the application of lubricants to reduce adhesion and friction during forming processes. The behavior of lubricants like tungsten disulfide (WS2) and graphene oxide (GO) are sensitive to their deposition method. WS2 applied through aerosol spray has been observed to increase its working temperature range. This research aims to evaluate the tribological and durability properties of WS2 and GO (deposited as an aerosol spray coating) at temperatures between 25 °C and 450 °C, using ball-on-disc sliding tests. The spray coatings displayed low COF during sliding contact which has been attributed to the formation of transfer layers on the steel counter-faces and tribolayers on the coated Al-Mg surfaces, while their durability was observed to be related to the stability of the tribolayers. The WS2 spray coating was noted to possess more durable tribolayers, which could be a result of the superior adhesion properties of the carbon-bonded WS2 platelets to each other and the Al Mg substrate.

Graphene (GR) has excellent physical and chemical properties, making it promising for application in supercapacitors. In this study, we report the synthesis of spherical GR (SGR) composed of tens of GR sheets and its application in supercapacitors. Graphene oxide (GO) was first reduced in the liquid phase by using L-ascorbic acid (L-AA), an environmentally friendly reducing agent, and then SGR was prepared using the reduced GO colloid by aerosol spray drying. The reduction of GO in the liquid phase was completed in 1 h. The SGR fabricated by the aerosol process ranged from 2 to 4 μm in diameter. The as-prepared SGR fabricated from GO at pH 2 showed a densely packed spherical morphology and porous structure with a specific surface area of 150 m2/g. The SGR fabricated from the GO colloid at pH 10 showed an improved specific surface area (216 m2/g) and a higher specific capacitance (182 F/g) than the SGR fabricated at pH 2. Considering the environmentally friendly process, the as-prepared SGR is a highly promising material for supercapacitors.

Vanadium oxide (VxOy) nanostructured films were prepared by Aerosol Spray Pyrolysis technique with different concentrations of precursor solution (0.005 M, 0.01 M, 0.02 M), using ammonium metavanadate (NH4VO3) as precursor. The deposition was carried out onto glass substrates (Corning glass) at two different substrate temperatures (300 °C and 400 °C). Furthermore, oxalic acid was added to the precursor solution in order to grow the thermochromic VO2(M) monoclinic phase via reduction of the Vanadium oxides in which Vanadium is in a higher oxidizing state. All films were characterized by X-Ray Diffraction technique and UV/Vis/NIR spectroscopy to identify their structural and optical properties, respectively. V2O5 films were tested against ozone, having a sensitivity of 29% in ultra-low concentration of 5ppb ozone, at room temperature. Moreover, nanostructured VO2 films appeared to be thermochromic, having an IR-switching of about 5% at λ = 2500 nm, upon heating.

We report a spray deposition technique for patterning liquid metal alloys to form stretchable conductors, which can then be encapsulated in silicone elastomers via the same spraying procedure. While spraying has been used previously to deposit many materials, including liquid metals, this work focuses on quantifying the spraying process and combining it with silicones. Spraying generates liquid metal microparticles (~5 μm diameter) that pass through openings in a stencil to produce traces with high resolution (~300 µm resolution using stencils from a craft cutter) on a substrate. The spraying produces sufficient kinetic energy (~14 m/s) to distort the particles on impact, which allows them to merge together. This merging process depends on both particle size and velocity. Particles of similar size do not merge when cast as a film. Likewise, smaller particles (&lt, 1 µm) moving at the same speed do not rupture on impact either, though calculations suggest that such particles could rupture at higher velocities. The liquid metal features can be encased by spraying uncured silicone elastomer from a volatile solvent to form a conformal coating that does not disrupt the liquid metal features during spraying. Alternating layers of liquid metal and elastomer may be patterned sequentially to build multilayer devices, such as soft and stretchable sensors.

Cost effective anode material with rational design is of significance for rechargeable potassium ion batteries (KIBs). Graphite anode currently still suffers unfavorable rate capability and moderate cycling stability. In this work, we report a mesoporous carbon sphere with rich porous structure as an anode material for KIBs with the assistance of an aerosol spray technology. The as-developed carbon spheres exhibit a well-defined spherical structure with favorable surface area of 1106.32 m2 g−1. Furthermore, the effect of different electrolytes on the electrochemical performance of the carbon anode has been investigated systematically. As expected, the carbon material shows excellent potassium storage performance in terms of improved specific capacity of 188.2 mAh g−1, rate capability and prolonged cyclability with a high capacity of 105.3 mAh g−1 after 500 cycles at a rate of 100 mA g−1 toward potassium storage in KFSI based carbonate electrolyte.

Techniques that enable the spatial arrangement of living cells into defined patterns are broadly applicable to tissue engineering, drug screening, and cell–cell investigations. Achieving large‐scale patterning with single‐cell resolution while minimizing cell stress/damage is, however, technically challenging using existing methods. Here, a facile and highly scalable technique for the rational design of reconfigurable arrays of cells is reported. Specifically, microdroplets of cell suspensions are assembled using stretchable surface‐chemical patterns which, following incubation, yield ordered arrays of cells. The microdroplets are generated using a microfluidic‐based aerosol spray nozzle that enables control of the volume/size of the droplets delivered to the surface. Assembly of the cell‐loaded microdroplets is achieved via mechanically induced coalescence using substrates with engineered surface‐wettability patterns based on extracellular matrices. Robust cell proliferation inside the patterned areas is demonstrated using standard culture techniques. By combining the scalability of aerosol‐based delivery and microdroplet surface assembly with user‐defined chemical patterns of controlled functionality, the technique reported here provides an innovative methodology for the scalable generation of large‐area cell arrays with flexible geometries and tunable resolution., Combining microfluidic aerosol generation and stretchable surface‐chemical patterns, a facile method for “micro‐assembly of cells‐in‐droplets,” (µACD) is demonstrated. µACD enables the generation of large‐area cell arrays with tunable geometries and controllable cell loading. This technique has immediate application in cell biology and drug screening with future impacts on the fields of tissue engineering and mechanobiology.

Stringent regulation is endorsed to restrict global gaseous and particulate vehicle emissions by adapting advanced catalytic systems on the exhaust, incorporating costly platinum group metals (PGM) for oxidation catalysis. Porous silica and alumina particles are synthesized in the present work via a one-step aerosol spray route. The particles are doped with Pt, Ce and Na and are evaluated with respect to their pore size distribution, exhibiting surface areas between 6-269 m2/gr. The particles have been evaluated in a packed bed reactor with respect to NO oxidation in presence or absence of hydrocarbons (C2H4) in order to study the hydrocarbon inhibition effect on oxidation kinetics, showing higher conversion curves for higher surface area samples. The current work studies also the correlation between reactant accessibility to the in-pore Pt nanoparticles and catalytic activity by reaction kinetic model.

Porous titanium dioxide (TiO2) microspheres (MS) were prepared by a facile ultrasonic spray pyrolysis process with commercial colloidal silica as a sacrificial template. The morphology structure, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface areas and pore size distribution of TiO2 microspheres were studied by changing the content and diameter of the silica template in detail. These porous micro-sized MS are composed of anatase TiO2 nanocrystallites of 5–10 nm and have unique bimodal mesopores. The largest specific surface area of 112.3 m2/g has been achieved using 60 wt% 20 nm silica as a template. When used as photocatalysts, the best photocatalytic activity of the as-prepared porous MS is comparable to commercial P25 nanopowders. Moreover, the micro-size and tailored properties from the design that appear during the ultrasonic spray pyrolysis process give these porous MS a promising application in photocatalytic reaction.

The present work relates to the synthesis of iron and iron oxide based particles via Aerosol Spray Pyrolysis; a continuous and scalable aerosol synthesis method. Different process parameters included the temperature of reactor synthesis, flow rate/type of carrier gas and post treatment temperature as well as precursor solution chemistry, concentration, solvent and reactant type and such parameters are evaluated with respect to their effect on the synthesized particles crystallinity, morphology, iron oxidation state and mean particle diameter of produced powders. Three different iron precursor sources are employed: chloride, nitrate and a dispersible gel derived from a steel industry byproduct. Iron nitrate and chloride aqueous solutions were sprayed at four different concentrations in order to evaluate the effect of the nature of the iron precursor salt on the main attributes of the particle synthesized. Particle diameter was calculated theoretically based on models from the literature describing nucleation at the droplet level, while mean diameter of the synthesized particles was experimentally measured on line at the exit of the reactor. Ex situ TEM characterization provided the necessary morphological data to elaborate on the mechanisms of produced particles formation and explain observed deviations from the theoretically calculated mean particle diameter values.

The implementation of efficient hole blocking layers (BLs) is of vital importance to achieve high efficiency in solar cells using organolead trihalide materials as the solar light absorber. BLs permit electronic charge separation and avoid the recombination of charges by blocking the hole transfer to the anode. In this study, BLs have been prepared by aerosol spray pyrolysis and spin-coating using various solution compositions. The morphological, optical, microstructural and crystalline properties as well as the phase composition of these layers have been characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and optical measurements. Their blocking ability has been evaluated by cyclic voltammetry. A strong relationship has been found between these properties and the solar cell J–V characteristics and performances. Overall, we figured out that the sprayed BLs were thin, highly compact, covering, and conformal. No cracks or pinholes were found because the precursor underwent degradation and con...

TiO2 mesocrystals significantly enhanced the charge separation owing to the oriented superstructures (less internal defects) and porous properties (more active sites), which was useful for applications from photocatalysis to optoelectronics. In this work, ultrasound assisted aerosol-spray method followed by topotactic transformations was adopted to fabricate TiO2 hierarchical hollow microspheres. The unique structure was assembled by TiO2 mesocrystal nanosheets. The TiO2 mesocrystal hollow microspheres can greatly improve the photocatalytic performance. Furthermore, with the addition of Au3+ species in the precursor solution, ultrafine Au nanoparticles (3–4 nm) were uniformly deposited on the surface of TiO2 hollow microspheres. It shows great significance for the development and application of the TiO2 mesocrystals.

The increasing demand for energy storage has motivated the search for highly efficient electrode materials for use in rechargeable batteries with enhanced energy density and longer cycle life. One of the most promising strategies for achieving improved battery performance is altering the architecture of nanostructured materials employed as electrode materials in the energy storage field. Among numerous synthetic methods suggested for the fabrication of nanostructured materials, aerosol spray techniques such as spray pyrolysis, spray drying, and flame spray pyrolysis are reliable, as they are facile, cost-effective, and continuous processes that enable the synthesis of nanostructured electrode materials with desired morphologies and compositions with controlled stoichiometry. The post-treatment of spray-processed powders enables the fabrication of oxide, sulfide, and selenide nanostructures hybridized with carbonaceous materials including amorphous carbon, reduced graphene oxide, carbon nanotubes, etc. In this article, recent progress in the synthesis of nanostructured electrode materials by spray processes and their general formation mechanisms are discussed in detail. A brief introduction to the working principles of each spray process is given first, and synthetic strategies for the design of electrode materials for lithium-ion, sodium-ion, lithium–sulfur, lithium–selenium, and lithium–oxygen batteries are discussed along with some examples. This analysis sheds light on the synthesis of nanostructured materials by spray processes and paves the way toward the design of other novel and advanced nanostructured materials for high performance electrodes in rechargeable batteries of the future.

The sudden expansion of gas at the outlet of the jet (pneumatic) nebulizer significantly reduces the temperature of the solution, which may provoke bronchospasm, therefore it is recommended to use modern pneumatic inhalers equipped with a thermostat or a universal thermal attachment that allow to obtain a higher temperature aerosol, i.e. thermo-aerosol. The research was carried out for model Newtonian fluids. The droplet diameters of the aerosol spray were investigated using a Spraytec aerosol particle size measurement system. Analysis of the obtained results showed that the increase in solution viscosity caused a decrease in mean droplet diameters and prolonged nebulization time. The analysis of experimental data made it possible to propose a correlation equation describing the mean diameter of the droplets depending on the properties of the liquid and the flow conditions in the thermostated medical nebulizer. The obtained data contributes to a better understanding of the complex liquid atomisation process and can be helpful in the design of medical nebulizers and pharmaceutical preparations.

A sustainable methodology to synthesise and screen libraries of new low-environmental impact products, suitable for removing graffiti and murals from historic building, masonries and stone artworks has been developed. This approach provided a novel series of two-component systems by combining silica sol-gel chemistry and dimethyl carbonate. The solid matrixes were hybrid silica gels, which were synthesised in basic conditions by using ethylene and propylene glycols as organic co-solvents. Dimethyl carbonate (DMC) was the green organic solvent to load into the gel. The efficiency of three new systems in adsorbing/trapping commercial red aerosol spray paint was investigated through an ad hoc test tube extraction evaluation and on mock stained samples of Istrian stones. Data provided by NMR spectroscopy and FT-IR spectroscopy led to the identification of a promising cleaning agent, paving the way to its full characterisation and features improvement.

In this research, silica nano-particles are deposited over the borosilicate glass and silicon wafer substrates by indigenously developed Aerosol impact deposition assembly using SiH4, oxygen, and helium as precursors. The coating process involves deionization of gases leading towards nucleation sites for silica in the presence of plasma, while tuning the pressure difference between reaction and deposition chamber controls the coating thickness, porosity, and refractive index. The deposited coating layer on the substrate enhanced the transmittance to 99.6% at 600 nm wavelength. The induced porous nature and the graded index of the coated layer as observed from the AFM and SEM resulted in superhydrophilic behavior with a water contact angle of near to 0&deg, The super-hydrophilicity of the coating contains self-cleaning properties, suggesting an improvement of the performance of solar PV modules as well.

Portable medical inhaler systems are prone to bacterial contamination and ingrowth. Here we demonstrate the first valved aerosol spray chip, a system that sprays a microjet when actuated and seals against bacterial ingrowth into the spray nozzle in the closed state by a sufficiently small gap. The sealing mechanism is realized by placing a valve seat directly underneath the spray orifices. We fabricated and characterized spray chips with and without valve mechanism and show that they have indistinguishable spray performance. Our system aims to enable the safe reuse of spray chips for multiple spray operations over an extended period, lowering the cost of treatment while increasing patient compliance.

A key challenge in photoelectrochemical water splitting is to fabricate nanostructured photoelectrodes with desirable properties. Herein, Ni doped BaTiO3 hollow spheres (HS) supported on reduced graphene oxide (RGO) nanocomposite were successfully synthesized by aerosol spray drying method. Former spheres consisted of small nanoparticles with size 5–20 nm possessing high porosity and large area. Characterizations were done by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). Ni doped BaTiO3 HS/RGO nanocomposites as photoanodes exhibited an enhanced photoelectrochemical performance and long-term stability compared to BaTiO3 HS and BaTiO3 HS/RGO. The photocurrent density of Ni doped BaTiO3 HS/RGO photoanode revealed 8.14 μA cm−2 which is 37% more than BaTiO3 HS. From electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis, Ni doped BaTiO3 HS/RGO exhibited the lowest charge transfer resistance in comparison with BaTiO3 HS and BaTiO3 HS/RGO which leads to enhancement in the electrocatalytic activity. The successful doping of BaTiO3 HS by Ni and its loading over RGO increases the separation rate of photogenerated electrons and holes and improved the light harvesting. Ni doped BaTiO3 HS/RGO as photo-electrocatalyst exhibits excellent activity toward water oxidation capability and presents a new approach for high-efficient future photo-electrocatalysis.

In this article, we report on the preparation of ultrasmall SnS nanoparticles embedded in carbon spheres (called SnS/C nanocomposite) by one pot aerosol spray pyrolysis and its application as a high-rate and long-cycle life anode material for sodium-ion batteries. The structure and morphology analysis of the as-prepared nanocomposite shows that SnS nanoparticles with a size about 5 nm are homogeneously dispersed in the carbon spheres (denoted as 5-SnS/C). The sizes and components of SnS particles can be controlled by adjusting the precursor's concentration. When applied as an anode material of sodium-ion batteries, the 5-SnS/C nanocomposite delivers an initial charge capacity of 560.8 mA h g−1 at 1 A g−1 and maintains a reversible capacity of 517.6 mA h g−1 after 200 cycles at 1 A g−1. In particular, the 5-SnS/C electrode exhibits a high-rate capability, with reversible capacities of 428.5 mA h g−1 at 3 A g−1 and 315.4 mA h g−1 at 5 A g−1, respectively. The excellent electrochemical performance of 5-SnS/C is due to the fact that the uniformly embedded ∼5 nm SnS nanoparticles in the stable carbon matrix can alleviate the volume expansion during cycling with a buffering effect to prevent aggregation of SnS nanoparticles.

We demonstrate a new technique to produce lithium sulfide-carbon composite (Li2S-C) cathodes for lithium-sulfur batteries via aerosol spray pyrolysis (ASP) followed by sulfurization. Specifically, lithium carbonate-carbon (Li2CO3-C) composite nanoparticles are first synthesized via ASP from aqueous solutions of sucrose and lithium salts including nitrate (LiNO3), acetate (CH3COOLi), and Li2CO3, respectively. The obtained Li2CO3-C composites are subsequently converted to Li2S-C through sulfurization by reaction to H2S. Electrochemical characterizations show excellent overall capacity and cycle stability of the Li2S-C composites with relatively high areal loading of Li2S and low electrolyte/Li2S ratio. The Li2S-C nanocomposites also demonstrate clear structure-property relationships.

An aerosol spray pyrolysis technique is used to synthesize a spherical nano-Sb@C composite. Instrumental analyses reveal that the micro-nanostructured composite with an optimized Sb content of 68.8 wt% is composed of ultra-small Sb nanoparticles (10 nm) uniformly embedded within a spherical porous C matrix (denoted as 10-Sb@C). The content and size of Sb can be controlled by altering the concentration of the precursor. As an anode material of sodium-ion batteries, 10-Sb@C provides a discharge capacity of 435 mAh·g–1 in the second cycle and 385 mAh·g–1 (a capacity retention of 88.5%) after 500 cycles at 100 mAh·g–1. In particular, the electrode exhibits an excellent rate capability (355, 324, and 270 mAh·g–1 at 1,000, 2,000, and 4,000 mA·g–1, respectively). Such a high-rate performance for the Sb-C anode has rarely been reported. The remarkable electrochemical behavior of 10-Sb@C is attributed to the synergetic effects of ultra-small Sb nanoparticles with an uniform distribution and a porous C framework, which can effectively alleviate the stress associated with a large volume change and suppress the agglomeration of the pulverized nanoparticles during prolonged charge-discharge cycling.

Particle removal without damage to sensitive device structures on semiconductor devices is a necessary process to maximum device yield. The use of an atomized aerosol spray for damage-free particle removal has proven to be one of the more effective strategies. Continued improvements in nozzle design have enabled the use of this technique to 1Xnm technology nodes. Recently, the freezing of water has also shown promise for damage-free particle removal, and the performance of this new technique is compared with aerosol spray cleaning.

Nanostructured composites built from ordinary building units have attracted much attention because of their collective properties for critical applications. Herein, we have demonstrated the heteroassembly of carbon nanotubes and oxide nanocrystals using an aerosol spray method to prepare nanostructured mesoporous composites for electrochemical energy storage. The designed composite architectures show high conductivity and hierarchically structured mesopores, which achieve rapid electron and ion transport in electrodes. Therefore, as-synthesized carbon nanotube/TiO2 electrodes exhibit high rate performance through rapid Li(+) intercalation, making them suitable for ultrafast energy storage devices. Moreover, the synthesis process provides a broadly applicable method to achieve the heteroassembly of vast low-dimensional building blocks for many important applications.

Pitaya-like Sb@C microspheres are prepared successfully by facile aerosol spray drying synthesis. Structural and morphological characterizations reveal that the Sb@C microspheres have a uniform pitaya-like structure, with well crystallized Sb nanoparticles embedded homogeneously in the carbon matrix. The Sb@C microsphere electrodes exhibit high Na storage capacity of 655 mA h g−1 at C/15 with excellent cyclability (93% of capacity retention over 100 cycles), as well as remarkable rate capability. Also, the morphological evolution of the Sb@C microspheres is unravelled to account for its excellent electrochemical performance, caused by maintenance of the pitaya-like configuration during cycling. This structural stability guarantees tight contact of Sb with carbon buffer, as well as uniform distribution of Sb to balance the localized mechanical stress, ensuring excellent electrochemical performance. The structural design and synthetic method reported in this work may provide an effective way to stabilize electrochemical performance of Na-storable alloy materials and therefore provide a new prospect for creation of cycle-stable alloy anodes for high capacity Na-ion batteries.

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells require electrocatalysts with a high platinum (Pt) loading, large active surface area, and favorable hydrodynamic profile for practical applications. Here, we report the design of three-dimensional hierarchical bimodal macroporous carbon nanospheres with an interconnected pore system, which are applied as an electrocatalyst support. Carbon-supported Pt (Pt/C) catalysts were prepared by aerosol spray pyrolysis followed by microwave chemical deposition. The hierarchical porous structures not only increased the dispersion of Pt nanoparticles but also improved catalytic performance. A hierarchical bimodal macroporous Pt/C catalyst with a mixture of 30 and 120 nm size pores showed the best performance. The electrochemical surface area and mass activity values of this support were 96 m2 g–1-Pt and 378 mA mg–1-Pt, respectively at a Pt loading of 15 wt %.

In order to study thecharacteristics of this new type of quenching process that is atomized waterspray quenching, this article analyzes the influence factors of atomized waterspray quenching based on the newly developed aerosol spray quenching experimentdevice. Based on 2 method, the two factors of water flow and nitrogen pressureare controllable, we analyzed the influences of the two factors of nitrogenpressure and water flow to the quenching cooling time. This paper induces andanalyses the experiment results and numerical calculation results[1]. The conclusions are: water flow is the main factor ofaffecting the quenching rate, the interaction of the nitrogen pressure andwater flow is significant: when the nitrogen pressure is low ,the water flow ishigh, the quenching cooling rate is guaranteed.

Nanostructured Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 /CNT composite particles were synthesized using an aerosol spray drying process followed by thermal annealing. After assembling into CNT networks, lightweight, flexible and binder-free Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 /CNT anodes were fabricated for lithium-ion batteries. Electrodes fabricated from these nanocomposites showed effective electron and ion transport and, more importantly, more robust structure compared to traditional binder-bonded electrodes. The electrodes delivered a high reversible capacity and superior rate performance up to an extremely high rate of 100C. Moreover, ultralong cycling stability was attained through 8000 rapid charge-discharge cycles with 89% capacity retention. These results demonstrate the feasibility of ultrafast batteries.

Graphene (GR) is a flat monolayer of sp2-bonded single carbon atoms densely packed into a honeycomb crystal lattice. Due to its unique characteristics, GR is expected to contribute to enhanced nanoelectronic, bio-electronic devices, etc. in the near future. However, the single-layered GR sheets have a tendency to form irreversible aggregates or even to restack easily due to strong attraction between sheets. Preventing of aggregation and restacking of GR is achieved by the dimensional transition from flat sheets to fractal-dimensional, nearly spherical crumpled balls using aerosol spray pyrolysis. This review first introduces the fabrication of crumpled GR and GR-composite by aerosol spray pyrolysis, and then discusses the material properties of GR: strain-hardening, compression and aggregation-resistant behavior. Finally, we introduce effective applications of hollow crumpled GR balls for oil absorbent and crumpled GR-composites for glucose biosensor, respectively.

Copyright: 2014 Elsevier. This is an ABSTRACT ONLY. The definitive version is published in Applied Surface Science,vol. 311, pp 14-26

We report a high-performance silicon-carbon (Si-C) composite anode material for lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries via a scalable production route. Porous silica particles as the precursor of Si is obtained from aerosol spray drying of the commercial silica suspension in water. The silica particles are reduced to porous Si via magnesiothermic reduction followed by carbon coating from chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The kinetics of magnesiothermic reduction of silica is systematically studied thus the conversion and the microstructural properties of obtained porous Si can be precisely optimized. The Si-C composite demonstrates excellent specific capacity of 1835 mAh g−1 and outstanding cycle stability. When used as an additive to the graphite anode, the thick electrodes with total areal loading of 4.0 mg cm−2 containing 20 wt% Si-C and 70 wt% graphite achieve remarkable performance: 850 mAh g−1 overall specific capacity and 3.4 mAh cm−2 areal capacity as well as 92% capacity retention after 200 cycles. Full cells composed of commercial lithium iron phosphate cathode and the Si-C-graphite anode under lean electrolyte condition also demonstrate excellent performance.

A new generation of aerosol technology is expanded rapidly where the research and development are focused on the analysis of pressure involved in the propellants, packaging and ingredients to make the aerosol as a high performance with fine spray product. There are few problems in replacing Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) with water and developing quality fine spray with pressurised aerosol spray. Therefore, this study is focused on developing an internal nozzle by analysed the characteristics of spray using ANSYS-CFX simulation with RNG k-epsilon turbulence model. The analysis were on various pressure supply from 1 bar up to 9 bar, where the n-butane and water are applied as a single liquid phases material. The simulation are based on plain nozzle design where the geometry and physical properties were carefully scale based on actual condition. As a result, it shows the widening of the jet downstream of the gap and increased in Reynolds stresses in the region of high turbulence intensity. Furthermore, the spectra of turbulent kinetic energy were also investigated, indicating that, increased in turbulent kinetic energy is mainly due to an increase in energy of eddies. Consequently, the use of water is acceptable as an alternative to substitute the n-butane liquid phase in producing an aerosol spray product.

Copyright: 2013 Elsevier. This is an ABSTRACT ONLY. The definitive version is published in Journal of Alloys and Compounds, vol. 579, pp 485-494

A model is developed of aerosol spray for synthesis of sensor film from solution. The synthesis technique considered involves atomization of a solution of mixed salts in methanol, spraying of solution droplets, droplet deposition on a heated substrate, evaporation and chemical reaction to produce mixed oxides, and subsequent film growth. The precise control of oxide nanoparticle size distribution and inter-particle spacing in the film is crucial to achieving high sensitivity. These in turn largely depend on the droplet characteristics prior to impingement on the substrate. This paper focuses on the development of a model to describe the atomization and spray processes prior to the film growth. Specifically, a mathematical model is developed utilizing computational fluid dynamics solution of the equations governing the transport of atomized droplets from the nozzle to the substrate in order to predict droplet characteristics in flight. The predictions include spatial distribution of droplet size and concentration, and the effect on these characteristics of swirling inlet flow at the spray nozzle.

A surfactant-free preparation of mesoporous silica spherical particles, MSPs was developed using sodium silicate extracted from TFT-LCD industrial waste powder via aerosol spray route in this study. Inorganic acids including hydrochloric acids and nitric acids were employed to acidify the silicate supernatant to form activated silica precursors and the influence of acids in the activated silica precursors was studied. The MSPs(HNO3), which was synthesized in the presence of nitric acids exhibited high surface area (776 m2/g), mesopore size (5.3 nm) as well as large pore volume (1.15 cm3/g) and it was further applied as a support of adsorbent for CO2 capture. It was demonstrated that tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA)-impregnated MSPs(HNO3) adsorbent presents advantages of convenient synthesis, low cost and high adsorption performance (122 mg-CO2/g-adsorbent), which was superior to those of TEPA-SBA-15 and TEPA-MCM-41 manufactured from pure silica chemicals under the same test conditions. The results suggested that low-cost MSPs(HNO3) prepared using silicate solution from TFT-LCD waste powder via spray approach can be promising CO2 adsorbents. This novel process could also be employed for further extensible to other kinds of Si-related industrial wastes and benefit in large-scale production of highly valuable silica-based sorbents for environmental protection applications.

We have investigated the feasibility of aerosol spray pyrolysis for the synthesis of copper sulfide nanocrystals, which are promising candidates for the development of low-cost, printable photovoltaic devices. A solution of copper diethyldithiocarbamate in toluene is aerosolized and aerodynamically dragged through a tube furnace, where the droplets are dried and nanocrystals are formed. Particles smaller than 20 nm are produced. The particles are preferentially formed as digenite (Cu1.8S), although we show that with low furnace temperature it is possible to produce chalcocite (Cu2S) nanocrystals.

Carbon coated porous hollow Na 2 FePO 4 F (C/Na 2 FePO 4 F) spheres with 500 nm diameter and 80 nm wall thickness are synthesized by a one-step template-free ultrasonic spray pyrolysis process using sucrose as the carbon source. Nano-sized porous hollow C/Na 2 FePO 4 F spheres allow electrolyte to penetrate into the hollow structure, and thus the electrochemical reaction can take place on both the outside and inside surface and in the pores. Also, the carbon coating on Na 2 FePO 4 F hollow spheres enhances the electronic conductivity and charge transfer reaction kinetics. The unique carbon coated porous hollow C/Na 2 FePO 4 F cathodes deliver 89 mAh g −1 capacity at a low rate of 0.1C, and 75 mAh g −1 at 1C, and maintains 33% of capacity at 9C. After 750 cycles at 1C, C/Na 2 FePO 4 F cathodes can still provide 60 mAh g −1 , which is 80% of initial capacity. The significant advance in electrochemical performance of hollow C/Na 2 FePO 4 F spheres combined with mature aerosol spray synthesis technology make these carbon coated porous hollow C/Na 2 FePO 4 F spheres very promising as cathode materials for practical applications in Na-ion batteries.

Background Sore throat sprays provide targeted relief by delivering the active ingredient directly to the site of pain. Different sprays vary in characteristics, thus affecting delivery of the active ingredient to the throat, which can impact compliance. Objective The characteristics and performance of FLURBIPROFEN 8.75 mg SPRAY were compared with 12 other sprays. Method Parameters assessed included spray angle and pattern, droplet size distribution, shot weight uniformity and shot weight throughout life. Results Among all sprays tested WICK Sulagil Halsspray had the smallest spray angle (46°) and also the smallest diameter spray pattern (X=32.8 mm; Y=34.4 mm). Thiovalone® Buccal Spray Suspension had both the largest spray angle (82°) and largest diameter spray pattern (X=62.6 mm; Y=78.0 mm). Hasco Sept® Aerosol Spray had the smallest droplet size (Dv90=118.4 μm) whereas OKi infiammazione e dolore® 0.16% spray had the largest (Dv90=214.34 μm). In terms of shot weight uniformity, TANTUM® VERDE GOLA 0.25% spray showed the least variation (2% RSD) between shots and UNIBEN Aerosol Spray the most (23.4% RSD). Shot weight throughout life studies showed that FLURBIPROFEN 8.75 mg SPRAY had the least deviation from shot weight (1.77%) whereas OKi infiammazione e dolore® 0.16% spray deviated the most (44.9%). FLURBIPROFEN 8.75 mg SPRAY had the second smallest spray angle/pattern and droplet size distribution and also the least variation in shot weight. Conclusion Different sore throat sprays vary in different attributes, affecting delivery of the active ingredient. FLURBIPROFEN 8.75 mg SPRAY performed well overall, ranking first among all sprays tested, and providing a dose which is targeted and uniformly delivered throughout the life of the bottle.

Thermochemical metal/metal oxide redox reactions have twice the energy density of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT). They suffer, however, from low pressure-volume work due to low gas expansion from the reaction. This study focuses on the development of a nanocomposite that delivers a high energy density and the potential of rapid gas release. Hollow CuO spheres with nanosized building blocks are fabricated using a “droplet-to-particle” aerosol spray pyrolysis method with the introduction of gas-blowing agents in the synthesis procedure. Nanoaluminum with hollow CuO as an oxidizer ignites in a very violent manner and exhibits excellent gas-generation behavior, demonstrating a high pressurization rate of 0.745 MPa μs−1 and a transient peak pressure of 0.896 MPa with a charge density of 1 mg cm−3, as well as a rapid oxygen release. Compared with wet-chemistry methods, gas-phase processes are relatively low cost, nominally offer a higher purity product, and are usually configured as continuous production processes, with a limited number of steps. The synthesis strategy demonstrated is simple and should be extendable to the preparation of other hollow metal oxide structures.

A novel mesoporous silica spherical particle, MSP (AS) was facilely prepared using photonic industrial waste powder as the silica source via salt-templated aerosol spray approach. As an alternative to expensive mesoporous silica materials in prior works, the obtained MSP (AS) possesses advantages of simple and rapid synthesis with low manufacturing costs. The characteristics of the MSP (AS) material were investigated by the XRD, N 2 adsorption–desorption measurement, SEM, TEM and TG/DTG analyses. The results clearly demonstrated the presence of mesoporous siliceous material with high specific surface area (585 m 2 /g), mesopore size (9.1 nm) as well as large pore volume (1.24 cm 3 /g). Furthermore, the MSP (AS) is evaluated as the support of adsorbent in terms of CO 2 adsorption. It is observed that the amine-functionalized MSP (AS) adsorbent (TEPA-MSP (AS)) which possessed larger pore diameter and pore volume tends to have a higher adsorption capacity of 127 mg CO 2 /g adsorbent. This is superior to those of TEPA-SBA-15 (117 mg CO 2 /g adsorbent), TEPA-MCM-41 (112 mg CO 2 /g adsorbent) and TEPA-NaY (96 mg CO 2 /g adsorbent) under the same test condition. The results clearly suggest that the MSP (AS) synthesized using photonic industrial solid wastes via salt-templated aerosol route can be a potential and cost-effective adsorbent for CO 2 capture.