A method of producing nanoscale materials comprising the steps of entraining liquid droplets containing at least one nanoparticle precursor within a gaseous stream, and passing said gaseous stream containing said liquid droplets through a non-thermal equilibrium plasma whereby said plasma interacts with said at least one nanoparticle precursor to produce nanoparticles within said droplets without substantial evaporation of the droplets and conveying the thus produced nanoparticles within said gaseous stream downstream of said plasma.

A method of forming metal nanoparticles includes applying a substance to an area of interest, applying cold plasma to the area of interest, and synthesizing nanoparticles from the substance using the cold plasma in the area of interest, wherein the substance is a solution that contains metal ions, and the nanoparticles synthesized are metallic in nature.

A method of forming metal nanoparticles includes applying a substance to an area of interest, applying cold plasma to the area of interest, and synthesizing nanoparticles from the substance using the cold plasma in the area of interest, wherein the substance is a solution that contains metal ions, and the nanoparticles synthesized are metallic in nature.

Provided are a fine particle manufacturing apparatus and a fine particle manufacturing method, which manufacture smaller fine particles. The fine particle manufacturing apparatus has: a raw material supply unit that supplies raw materials for producing fine particles into a thermal plasma flame; a plasma torch in which the thermal plasma flame is generated and the raw materials supplied by the raw material supply unit is evaporated by the thermal plasma flame to form a mixture in a gaseous state; a plasma generation unit that generates the thermal plasma flame inside the plasma torch; and a gas supply unit that supplies quenched gas to the thermal plasma flame, wherein the gas supply unit supplies the quenched gas with time modulation of the supply amount of the quenched gas.

A device for producing an amorphous carbon layer by electron cyclotron resonance plasma, the device including a plasma chamber; a gas supply; a magnetic mirror; a waveguide extending along a reference axis; a system for injecting microwave power; a magnetic field generator for generating a magnetic field in the plasma chamber, the magnetic field generator being configured to create a beam of magnetic field lines along which plasma is diffused; a target made from carbon; a substrate holder, wherein the target is arranged at a distance from the reference axis of between R.sub.target/2 and R.sub.target, and wherein the device further includes a screen arranged between the waveguide and the substrate holder.

A dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma apparatus for synthesizing metal particles is provided. The DBD plasma apparatus includes an electrolyte vessel for receiving an electrolyte solution comprising metal ions; an electrode spaced-apart from the electrolyte vessel; a dielectric barrier interposed between the electrolyte vessel and the electrode such that, when the electrolyte solution is present in the electrolyte vessel, the dielectric barrier and an upper surface of the electrolyte solution are spaced-apart from each other and define a discharge area therebetween; and gas inlet and outlet ports in fluid communication with the discharge area such that supplying gas in the discharge area while applying an electrical potential difference between the electrode and the electrolyte solution cause a plasma to be produced onto the electrolyte solution, the plasma interacting with the metal ions and synthesizing metal particles. A method for synthesizing metal particles using a DBD plasma apparatus is also provided.

The present disclosure describes processes and apparatuses for manufacturing advanced nanosize powder materials that address at least some of the known issues of scalability, continuity, and quality inherent in prior art processes and apparatuses. Also described are nanosized powders with advantageous chemical and/or physical properties that can be used in various applications. The apparatus for producing nanoparticles, comprising a feeding mechanism for feeding a precursor material in fluid form toward a reaction zone along a feed path; a plasma device configured for generating a plasma jet in the reaction zone impinging upon the precursor material at a convergence point between streamlines of the plasma jet and the feed path to produce a reactant gaseous mixture, the plasma jet streamlines being at an angle with respect to the feed path, and a cooling zone receiving the reactant gaseous mixture to cause nucleation and produce the nanoparticles.

A method of producing nanoscale materials comprising the steps of entraining liquid droplets containing at least one nanoparticle precursor within a gaseous stream, and passing said gaseous stream containing said liquid droplets through a non-thermal equilibrium plasma whereby said plasma interacts with said at least one nanoparticle precursor to produce nanoparticles within said droplets without substantial evaporation of the droplets and conveying the thus produced nanoparticles within said gaseous stream downstream of said plasma.

The embodiments disclosed herein are directed to systems, methods, and devices for pyrolysis of methane in a microwave plasma for hydrogen production and structured carbon powder. Some methods are directed to producing a structured carbon powder using a microwave generated plasma comprising injecting a plasma gas comprising methane (CH.sub.4) into a liner, the liner in communication with a microwave waveguide; propagating microwaves through the microwave waveguide, the microwaves generated using a microwave generator; and generating a microwave plasma by contacting the plasma gas with the microwaves.

A production apparatus for fine particles includes a vacuum chamber, a material supply device, a plurality of electrodes arranged and a collection device connecting to the other end of the vacuum chamber and collecting fine particles, which generates plasma and produces fine particles from the material particles, in which a first electrode arrangement region on the material supply port's side and a second electrode arrangement region apart from the first electrode arrangement region to the collection device's side which respectively cross a direction in which the material flows between the vicinity of the material supply port and the collection device are provided in the intermediate part of the vacuum chamber, and both the first electrode arrangement region and the second electrode arrangement region are provided with a plurality of electrodes respectively to form the electrodes in multi-stages.