Synthesis of Nanostructures in Gas-Discharge Plasma

A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Synthesis, Interfaces and Nanostructures".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 March 2024) | Viewed by 11095

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Computational Physics, Institute of Physics, Kazan Federal University, Kazan 420008, Russia
Interests: non-ideal plasma; dusty plasma; MD simulation; Brownian dynamics; statistical mechanics; nanomaterials

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Guest Editor
Institute of Problems of Chemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Ac. Semenov avenue 1, Chernogolovka, Moscow 142432, Russian
Interests: chemical physics; photonics of molecular; supramolecular and nanoscale systems; study of the processes of structure formation and self-organization in the condensed phase

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Guest Editor
Faculty of Physics and Mathematics, Kazan National Research Technical University, A.N. Tupolev-KAI" (KNITU-KAI), Kazan 420111, Russia
Interests: gas-discharge plasma; glow discharge; arc discharge; electric arc plasma torch; fuel oil; hydrocarbons; bitumen; fullerenes; nanotubes; nanodiamonds; iron carbide; silicon carbide

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Gas-discharge plasma is a universal tool that makes it possible to obtain nanostructured materials of various morphologies and compositions. The wide range of applications of nanometers in various areas of human life makes the study of plasma processes of nanomaterial synthesis a very urgent task. This Special Issue welcomes works devoted to topical issues and problems of physical processes in the plasma synthesis of nanomaterials.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:       

  • Plasma sputtering and deposition.
  • Modeling of the physical properties of nanomaterials.
  • Physics of gas-discharge plasma.
  • Physics of dusty and non-ideal plasmas.
  • Interaction of plasma with matter.
  • Diagnostics of gas-discharge plasma.
  • Plasma chemistry.
  • Plasma in biomedical applications.

In December 2022, we are holding the third international conference "Gas-discharge plasma and synthesis of nanostructures" GDP-NANO 2022. This Special Issue, “Gas-discharge plasma and synthesis of nanostructures”, will promote the latest research work relevant to the fundamental and applied problems of gas-discharge plasma physics and synthesis of nanostructures, as part of the GDP-NANO 2022 conference (https://gdp-nano.com/en). Submissions of communications, full papers, and reviews are all welcome.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Kind regards,

Dr. Ilnaz Fairushin
Dr. Vladimir F. Razumov
Dr. Boris Akhunovich Timerkaev
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • plasma sputtering
  • plasma deposition
  • physical properties of nanomaterials
  • gas-discharge plasma
  • dusty and non-ideal plasmas
  • interaction of plasma with matter
  • diagnostics of gas-discharge plasma
  • plasma chemistry
  • plasma in biomedical applications

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 7062 KiB  
Article
Formation of Black Silicon in a Process of Plasma Etching with Passivation in a SF6/O2 Gas Mixture
by Andrey Miakonkikh and Vitaly Kuzmenko
Nanomaterials 2024, 14(11), 945; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano14110945 - 28 May 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1231
Abstract
This article discusses a method for forming black silicon using plasma etching at a sample temperature range from −20 °C to +20 °C in a mixture of oxygen and sulfur hexafluoride. The surface morphology of the resulting structures, the autocorrelation function of surface [...] Read more.
This article discusses a method for forming black silicon using plasma etching at a sample temperature range from −20 °C to +20 °C in a mixture of oxygen and sulfur hexafluoride. The surface morphology of the resulting structures, the autocorrelation function of surface features, and reflectivity were studied depending on the process parameters—the composition of the plasma mixture, temperature and other discharge parameters (radical concentrations). The relationship between these parameters and the concentrations of oxygen and fluorine radicals in plasma is shown. A novel approach has been studied to reduce the reflectance using conformal bilayer dielectric coatings deposited by atomic layer deposition. The reflectivity of the resulting black silicon was studied in a wide spectral range from 400 to 900 nm. As a result of the research, technologies for creating black silicon on silicon wafers with a diameter of 200 mm have been proposed, and the structure formation process takes no more than 5 min. The resulting structures are an example of the self-formation of nanostructures due to anisotropic etching in a gas discharge plasma. This material has high mechanical, chemical and thermal stability and can be used as an antireflective coating, in structures requiring a developed surface—photovoltaics, supercapacitors, catalysts, and antibacterial surfaces. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Synthesis of Nanostructures in Gas-Discharge Plasma)
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17 pages, 4706 KiB  
Article
Improvement of Electrical Conductivity of In Situ Iodine-Doped Polypyrrole Film Using Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Reactor with Capillary Electrodes
by Eun Young Jung, Salman Khalil, Hyojun Jang, Habeeb Olaitan Suleiman, Jae Young Kim, Bhum Jae Shin, Heung-Sik Tae and Choon-Sang Park
Nanomaterials 2024, 14(5), 468; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano14050468 - 4 Mar 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1423
Abstract
To improve the electrical conductivity of polypyrrole (PPy) nanostructure film through in situ iodine (I2) doping, this study proposes an atmospheric pressure plasma reactor (APPR) where heated I2 dopant vapor is fed through capillary electrodes that serve as electrodes for [...] Read more.
To improve the electrical conductivity of polypyrrole (PPy) nanostructure film through in situ iodine (I2) doping, this study proposes an atmospheric pressure plasma reactor (APPR) where heated I2 dopant vapor is fed through capillary electrodes that serve as electrodes for discharge ignition. A large amount of the heated I2 vapor introduced into the reactor separately from a monomer gas can be effectively activated by an intense plasma via capillary electrodes. In particular, intensive plasma is obtained by properly adjusting the bluff body position in the APPR. Based on the ICCD and OES results, the I2 vapor injected through the capillary nozzle electrode is observed to form I2 charge species. The formed I2 species could directly participate in growing in situ I2-doped PPy films. Thus, in situ I2-doped PPy nanostructure films grown using the proposed APPR exhibit higher thicknesses of 15.3 μm and good electrical conductivities, compared to the corresponding non-doped films. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Synthesis of Nanostructures in Gas-Discharge Plasma)
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17 pages, 4759 KiB  
Article
Effects of Dielectric Barrier on Water Activation and Phosphorus Compound Digestion in Gas–Liquid Discharges
by Ye Rin Lee, Do Yeob Kim, Jae Young Kim, Da Hye Lee, Gyu Tae Bae, Hyojun Jang, Joo Young Park, Sunghoon Jung, Eun Young Jung, Choon-Sang Park, Hyung-Kun Lee and Heung-Sik Tae
Nanomaterials 2024, 14(1), 40; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano14010040 - 22 Dec 2023
Viewed by 1236
Abstract
To generate a stable and effective air–liquid discharge in an open atmosphere, we investigated the effect of the dielectric barrier on the discharge between the pin electrode and liquid surface in an atmospheric-pressure plasma reactor. The atmospheric-pressure plasma reactor used in this study [...] Read more.
To generate a stable and effective air–liquid discharge in an open atmosphere, we investigated the effect of the dielectric barrier on the discharge between the pin electrode and liquid surface in an atmospheric-pressure plasma reactor. The atmospheric-pressure plasma reactor used in this study was based on a pin–plate discharge structure, and a metal wire was used as a pin-type power electrode. A plate-type ground electrode was placed above and below the vessel to compare the pin–liquid discharge and pin–liquid barrier discharge (PLBD). The results indicated that the PLBD configuration utilizing the bottom of the vessel as a dielectric barrier outperformed the pin–liquid setup in terms of the discharge stability and that the concentration of reactive species was different in the two plasma modes. PLBD can be used as a digestion technique for determining the phosphorus concentration in natural water sources. The method for decomposing phosphorus compounds by employing PLBD exhibited excellent decomposition performance, similar to the performance of thermochemical digestion—an established conventional method for phosphorus detection in water. The PLBD structure can replace the conventional chemical-agent-based digestion method for determining the total dissolved phosphorus concentration using the ascorbic acid reduction method. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Synthesis of Nanostructures in Gas-Discharge Plasma)
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12 pages, 9113 KiB  
Article
Surface Degradation of Thin-Layer Al/MgF2 Mirrors under Exposure to Powerful VUV Radiation
by Andrei Skriabin, Victor Telekh, Aleksei Pavlov, Daria Pasynkova, Anastasiya Podlosinskaya, Pavel Novikov, Valery Zhupanov, Dmitry Chesnokov, Viacheslav Senkov and Alexander Turyanskiy
Nanomaterials 2023, 13(21), 2819; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13212819 - 24 Oct 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1495
Abstract
Thin-layer Al/MgF2 coatings are currently used for extraterrestrial far-UV astronomy as the primary and secondary mirrors of telescopes (such as “Spektr-UF”). Successful Hubble far-UV measurements have been performed thanks to MgF2 on Al mirror coatings. Damage of such thin-layer coatings has [...] Read more.
Thin-layer Al/MgF2 coatings are currently used for extraterrestrial far-UV astronomy as the primary and secondary mirrors of telescopes (such as “Spektr-UF”). Successful Hubble far-UV measurements have been performed thanks to MgF2 on Al mirror coatings. Damage of such thin-layer coatings has been previously studied under exposure to high-energy electrons/protons fluxes and in low Earth orbit environments. Meanwhile, there is an interest to test the stability of such mirrors under the impact of extreme radiation fluxes from pulsed plasma thrusters as a simulation of emergency onboard situations and other applications. In the present studies, the high current and compressed plasma jets were generated by a laboratory plasma thruster prototype and operated as effective emitters of high brightness (with an integral overall wavelength radiation flux of >1 MW/cm2) and broadband radiation. The spectrum rearrangement and hard-photon cut-off at energy above Ec were implemented by selection of a background gas in the discharge chamber. The discharges in air (Ec ≈ 6 eV), argon (Ec ≈ 15 eV) and neon (Ec ≈ 21 eV) were studied. X-ray diffraction and reflectometry, electron and atomic force microscopy, and IR and visible spectroscopy were used for coating characterization and estimation of degradation degree. In the case of the discharges in air with photon energies of E < 6 eV, only individual nanocracks were found and property changes were negligible. In the case of inert gases, the energy fraction was ≈50% in the VUV range. As found for inert background gases, an emission of such hard photons with energies higher than the MgF2 band gap energy of ≈10.8 eV caused a drastic light-induced ablation and degradation of the irradiated coatings. The upward trend of degradation with an increasing of the maximum photon energies was detected. The obtained data on the surface destruction are useful for the design of methods for coating stability tests and an understanding of the consequences of emergencies onboard space research stations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Synthesis of Nanostructures in Gas-Discharge Plasma)
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20 pages, 8476 KiB  
Article
Modeling and Comparative Analysis of Atmospheric Pressure Anodic Carbon Arc Discharge in Argon and Helium–Producing Carbon Nanostructures
by Almaz Saifutdinov and Boris Timerkaev
Nanomaterials 2023, 13(13), 1966; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13131966 - 28 Jun 2023
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2166
Abstract
In this work, within the framework of a unified model for the discharge gap and electrodes, a comparative numerical analysis was carried out on the effect of evaporation of graphite anode material on the characteristics of the arc discharge in helium and argon. [...] Read more.
In this work, within the framework of a unified model for the discharge gap and electrodes, a comparative numerical analysis was carried out on the effect of evaporation of graphite anode material on the characteristics of the arc discharge in helium and argon. The effect of changing the plasma-forming ion, in which the ion of evaporated atomic carbon becomes the dominant ion, is demonstrated. For an arc discharge in helium, this effect is accompanied by a jump-like change in the dependence of the current density on voltage (CVC), and smoothly for a discharge in argon. With regard to the dynamics of the ignition of an arc discharge, it is shown that during the transition from glow discharge to arc in helium, the discharge parameters are also accompanied by an abrupt change, while in argon, this transition is smooth. This is due to the fact that the ionization potentials, as well as the ionization cross sections, differ significantly for helium and carbon, and are close in value for helium and argon. For various points on the CVC, the density distributions of the charged and neutral particles of an inert gas and evaporated gases are presented. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Synthesis of Nanostructures in Gas-Discharge Plasma)
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12 pages, 2516 KiB  
Article
Structure and Dielectric Properties of Poly(vinylidenefluoride-co-trifluoroethylene) Copolymer Thin Films Using Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Deposition for Piezoelectric Nanogenerator
by Eunyoung Jung, Choon-Sang Park, Taeeun Hong and Heung-Sik Tae
Nanomaterials 2023, 13(10), 1698; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13101698 - 22 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1772
Abstract
This study investigates the structural phase and dielectric properties of poly(vinylidenefluoride-co-trifluoroethylene) (P[VDF–TrFE]) thin films grown via atmospheric pressure (AP) plasma deposition using a mixed polymer solution comprising P[VDF–TrFE] polymer nano powder and dimethylformamide (DMF) liquid solvent. The length of the glass guide tube [...] Read more.
This study investigates the structural phase and dielectric properties of poly(vinylidenefluoride-co-trifluoroethylene) (P[VDF–TrFE]) thin films grown via atmospheric pressure (AP) plasma deposition using a mixed polymer solution comprising P[VDF–TrFE] polymer nano powder and dimethylformamide (DMF) liquid solvent. The length of the glass guide tube of the AP plasma deposition system is an important parameter in producing intense cloud-like plasma from the vaporization of DMF liquid solvent containing polymer nano powder. This intense cloud-like plasma for polymer deposition is observed in a glass guide tube of length 80 mm greater than the conventional case, thus uniformly depositing the P[VDF–TrFE] thin film with a thickness of 3 μm. The P[VDF–TrFE] thin films with excellent β-phase structural properties were coated under the optimum conditions at room temperature for 1 h. However, the P[VDF–TrFE] thin film had a very high DMF solvent component. The post-heating treatment was then performed on a hotplate in air for 3 h at post-heating temperatures of 140 °C, 160 °C, and 180 °C to remove DMF solvent and obtain pure piezoelectric P[VDF–TrFE] thin films. The optimal conditions for removing the DMF solvent while maintaining the β phases were also examined. The post-heated P[VDF–TrFE] thin films at 160 °C had a smooth surface with nanoparticles and crystalline peaks of β phases, as confirmed by the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and XRD analysis. The dielectric constant of the post-heated P[VDF–TrFE] thin film was measured to be 30 using an impedance analyzer at 10 kHz and is expected to be applied to electronic devices such as low-frequency piezoelectric nanogenerators. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Synthesis of Nanostructures in Gas-Discharge Plasma)
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