Continuous Fly-Through High-Temperature Synthesis of Nanocatalysts
Yun Qiao, Chaoji Chen, Yang Liu, Yifan Liu, Qi Dong, Yonggang Yao, Xizheng Wang, Yuyan Shao, Chao Wang, Liangbing Hu
Abstract
The conventional thermal treatment systems typically feature low ramping/cooling rates, which lead to steep thermal gradients that generate inefficient, nonuniform reaction conditions and result in nanoparticle aggregation. Herein, we demonstrate a continuous fly-through material synthesis approach using a novel high-temperature reactor design based on the emerging thermal-shock technology. By facing two sheets of carbon paper with a small distance apart (1-3 mm), uniform and ultrahigh temperatures can be reached up to 3200 K within 50 ms by simply applying a voltage of 15 V. The raw materials can be continuously fed through the device, allowing the final products to be rapidly collected. As a proof-of-concept demonstration, we synthesized Pt nanocatalysts (∼4 nm) anchored on carbon black via this reactor at ∼1400 K. Furthermore, we find it features excellent electrocatalytic activities toward methanol oxidation reaction. This work offers a highly efficient platform for nanomaterials synthesis at high temperatures.