Comparison of Mixing Approaches in the Synthesis and Deposition of Ceria Nanoparticles

Nanoparticle deposition techniques hold the promise of simplifying thin film deposition while enabling enhanced performance through the control of film density, porosity and composition. In this paper, ceria nanoparticles are deposited from solution to a film via spin coating. A comparison is made between the nanoparticle shape and film morphology produced by depositing from different mixing approaches. In this paper, different mixing approaches were carried out by using traditional batch precipitation reactor and continuous microchannel reactor (T-mixer). Preliminary results show different particle shape and film morphology as a function of precursor concentration. Advantages of the microchannel approach include better control of nanoparticle shape and more uniform film with less agglomeration.