Production of Size Controlled Aluminum and Alumina Nanoparticles via Pulsed Laser Ablation in Water

Abstract

An Al metal plate was ablated by a pulsed Nd-YAG laser to produce nano-structured Al and gamma-Al2O3 in deionized water in the absence of any surfactants or catalysts. In this study, the mean diameter and the width of size distribution of the nanoparticles was influenced by the laser power, resulting in the production of smaller and larger sizes of nanoparticles with higher and lower laser power, respectively. The influence of laser power on the mean diameter and the width of size distribution of as-prepared nanoparticles generated by the laser ablation process was explained by the space homogeneity of the plasma plume, where the nucleation of nanoparticles has occurred. Further explanations of the influence of laser power on the size distribution are proposed. Furthermore, structural and morphological characterization of aluminum and gamma-Al2O3 nanoparticles was conducted by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM).