Nanomaterial Synthesis Using Plasma Generation in Liquid

Abstract

Over the past few decades, the research field of nanomaterials (NMs) has developed rapidly because of the unique electrical, optical, magnetic, and catalytic properties of these materials. Among the various methods available today for NM synthesis, techniques for plasma generation in liquid are relatively new. Various types of plasma such as arc discharge and glow discharge can be applied to produce metal, alloy, oxide, inorganic, carbonaceous, and composite NMs. Many experimental setups have been reported, in which various parameters such as the liquid, electrode material, electrode configuration, and electric power source are varied. By examining the various electrode configurations and power sources available in the literature, this review classifies all available plasma in liquid setups into four main groups: (i) gas discharge between an electrode and the electrolyte surface, (ii) direct discharge between two electrodes, (iii) contact discharge between an electrode and the surface of surrounding electrolyte, and (iv) radio frequency and microwave plasma in liquid. After discussion of the techniques, NMs of metal, alloy, oxide, silicon, carbon, and composite produced by techniques for plasma generation in liquid are presented, where the source materials, reaction media, and electrode configurations are discussed in detail.