Comparison of Aerosol Pt, Au and Ag Nanoparticles Agglomerates Laser Sintering

Abstract

In this paper, we investigated the interaction of nanosecond pulsed-periodic infrared (IR) laser radiation at a 50 and 500 Hz repetition rate with aerosol platinum (Pt) and silver (Ag) nanoparticles agglomerates obtained in a spark discharge. Results showed the complete transformation of Pt dendrite-like agglomerates with sizes of 300 nm into individual spherical nanoparticles directly in a gas flow under 1053 nm laser pulses with energy density 3.5 mJ/cm2. Notably, the critical energy density required for this process depended on the size distribution and extinction of agglomerates nanoparticles. Based on the extinction cross-section spectra results, Ag nanoparticles exhibit a weaker extinction in the IR region in contrast to Pt, so they were not completely modified even under the pulses with energy density up to 12.7 mJ/cm2. The obtained results for Ag and Pt laser sintering were compared with corresponding modification of gold (Au) nanoparticles studied in our previous work. Here we considered the sintering mechanisms for Ag, Pt and Au nanoparticles agglomerates in the aerosol phase and proposed the model of their laser sintering based on one-stage for Pt agglomerates and two-stage shrinkage processes for Au and Ag agglomerates.

Special Issue “Laser Technologies in Metal-Based Materials”

“…Regarding publications in laser-induced physical processes, one can find the article by A. V. Agapovichev et al on selective laser melting to produce Ni-Cr-Al-Ti-Based Superalloy [ 11 ]. The authors of the article present sintering processes by pulsed nanosecond laser for obtaining aerosol agglomerates of Pt, Au, and Ag NPs [ 12 ]. The interesting combination of processes of laser-induced surface texturing simultaneously with laser-induced anchoring of silver NPs from colloidal solution is discussed by Jakub Siegel et al in [ 13 ].…”