Improving the technology and equipment for industrial production of nanoplates by liquid-phase shear exfoliation of layered crystals

Abstract

For the production of nanoplates from layered crystals by liquid-phase shear exfoliation, patent-protected technologies and equipment have been developed. The main difference between the proposed technologies and equipment from the known ones is that the exfoliation process is possible only by shearing in continuous operation. Particular interest in liquid-phase exfoliation can be explained by the following advantages of this technology in relation to others: chemical reagents are used in minimal amounts (3–4 mLL–1) as surfactants to prevent agglomeration of nanoplates that are formed during exfoliation; as a rule, one of the components of the created structural or functional material serves as a liquid dispersion medium; material and energy costs are much less than when using other technologies; this technology is easily scalable. The kinetics of the exfoliation process has been studied and it has been established that the concentration of nanoplate-layered crystals mainly depends on the total path of particles traveled by them in the exfoliation zone, i.e. in the zone of contact of the movable blades with the inner surface of the stator. A mathematical model has been developed for the distribution of nanoplates in a liquid, and the critical concentration of agglomeration of these plates in a liquid has been determined. A cascade technology for the production of nanoplates and a method for calculating the main regime and geometric parameters of rotary devices with moving blades are proposed.