Precipitation is a promising method for the economic production of commercial amounts of nanoparticles because it is fast, and operable at ambient temperature. However, process control – due to the rapidity of the involved processes of mixing, nucleation, growth, and agglomeration – and stabilization against agglomeration represent challenges. This paper shows how these challenges can be successfully handled. The focus of this work is therefore set on how to tailor the particle‐size distribution in continuous precipitation. Precipitation experiments with barium sulfate in a T‐mixer are presented. It was found that the size of the precipitated primary particles is strongly dependent on the mixing intensity. On increasing the mixing intensity, it was possible to generate particles of approximately 50 nanometers in diameter. The second challenge, to stabilize the particles against agglomeration, was successfully met by adsorbing potential‐determining ions on the particle surfaces, i.e., by increasing repulsive particle interactions. Thus, stable suspensions of barium sulfate nanoparticles were obtained.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.