Jianglan Qu

Plasma-assisted approaches in inorganic nanostructure fabrication.

Plasma is a unique medium for chemical reactions and materials preparations, which also finds its application in the current tide of nanostructure fabrication. Although plasma-assisted approaches have been long used in thin-film deposition and the top-down scheme of micro-/nanofabrication, fabrication of zero- and one-dimensional inorganic nanostructures through the bottom-up scheme is a relatively new focus of plasma application. In this article, recent plasma-assisted techniques in inorganic zero- and one-dimensional nanostructure fabrication are reviewed, which includes four categories of plasma-assisted approaches: plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition, thermal plasma sintering with liquid/solid feeding, thermal plasma evaporation and condensation, and plasma treatment of solids. The special effects and the advantages of plasmas on nanostructure fabrication are illustrated with examples, emphasizing on the understandings and ideas for controlling the growth, structure, and properties during plasma-assisted fabrications. This Review provides insight into the utilization of the special properties of plasmas in nanostructure fabrication.

The synthesis and hydrogen storage properties of pure nanostructured Mg2FeH6

In this work, pure nanostructured Mg(2)FeH(6) is successfully synthesized by sintering of a mixture of 2Mg + Fe nanoparticles. The successful preparation of pure Mg(2)FeH(6) can be attributed to the small particle sizes of Mg and Fe nanoparticles prepared by hydrogen plasma-metal reaction (HPMR), which benefits the synthesis. The hydrogen storage properties of Mg(2)FeH(6) and the synthesis mechanism of the Mg-Fe-H system are studied. The sample desorbs 5.0 wt% of hydrogen rapidly in 6 min under an initial hydrogen pressure of approximately 100 Pa at 623 K. The enthalpy and entropy of the reaction are deduced from the equilibrium plateau pressures of the desorption isotherms. The obtained Mg(2)FeH(6) shows favorable hydrogen storage properties due to the specific nanostructure of the materials.

Plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition of inorganic nanomaterials using a chloride precursor

Plasmas have been widely used for the fabrication of nanomaterials owing to their unique properties in chemical reactions. The plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) technique has been applied to produce a large variety of materials. In this perspective, we take a look at the progress made in the research of PECVD using chloride precursors in the last decade. We discuss the advantage of using a plasma compared with the thermal chemical vapour deposition technique and emphasize the special effects of plasma on nanomaterial fabrications in the PECVD technique, including kinetic and thermodynamic effects. We also outline the current challenges for this technique, and attempt to offer our personal opinion on the future applications of the PECVD technique with chloride precursors.