NJIT Physics Department Seminar

April 19th, Tuesday (**SPECIAL DAY**)

Nanoparticle Synthesis by Laser Ablation in Liquids

Prof. Sean M. O’Malley

Department of Physics, Rutgers University – Camden

(Materials Physics, Host: Sirenko)

Time: 1:15pm-2:15pm with 1pm tea time (**SPECIAL TIME**)

Room: FMH 408 (** SPECIAL ROOM**)

Abstract:

Nanoparticles (NPs) play a fundamental role in many aspects of modern materials research. The properties of NPs, responsible for generating their tremendous interest, are intimately dependent on the particle’s size, shape, and composition. Control of these parameters is essential to the implementation of NPs in various applications e.g. water treatment, antimicrobial agents, drug delivery, lithium-ion batteries, and reinforced plastics. A relatively new technique in the production of NPs is based on laser ablation in liquids (LAL). There are several appealing aspects of this approach over traditional multi-step chemical synthesis methods. For example, it avoids contamination of the particles by eliminating precursor compounds, limits agglomeration of the product, and is simple in execution. The emerging physical picture of the formation of NPs by LAL will be presented. This picture is based on experimental work that was coordinated with molecular dynamic simulations. Emphasis will be placed on the role played by laser fluence, cavitation bubble dynamics, and surface morphology in dictating the size of nanoparticles.