Gas-Phase Synthesis of Nanoparticles and Clusters

Gas-phase synthesis encompasses a suite of bottom-up techniques in which atoms or molecules vapourise and condense into nanoparticles or clusters within a controlled gas environment. Key methods include inert gas condensation, plasma polymerisation and magnetron sputtering in aggregation chambers, each offering rapid, non-equilibrium growth that can be tuned via gas composition, pressure, discharge power and aggregation length. This versatility enables the fabrication of monometallic, alloy and core@shell architectures with precise control over size, composition and surface chemistry. Recent improvements in cluster source design permit gram-per-day production rates under ultra-high vacuum conditions, coupled with in-flight manipulation—such as annealing, oxidation or acceleration—and in situ characterisation. These advances expand the practical applicability of gas-phase nanoparticles in catalysis, plasmonics, sensing and energy conversion by affording atomistic control and high purity.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have demonstrated the scaling of multiple ion cluster sources to achieve ultra-pure copper nanoparticles at production rates of tens of grams per day. The integrated system allows in-flight annealing, controlled oxidation and acceleration, alongside in situ mass and structural analysis, enabling precise tuning of chemical state and crystalline phase. In another advance, a mechanical time-of-flight filter has been devised to measure velocity distributions of nanoparticles emerging from gas aggregation sources with high resolution, facilitating adjustment of beam parameters and soft-landing deposition under ultra-high vacuum. A further innovation involves single-step fabrication of multicore@shell nanoparticles by co-introducing metal vapour and organosilicon precursors into a plasma aggregation source, yielding tunable silver-core sizes and plasma-polymer or silica shells with bespoke optical and chemical functionality.

Gas-Phase Synthesis of Nanoparticles and Clusters publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in gas-phase synthesis of nanoparticles and clusters across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Gas-phase aggregation: Bottom-up formation of nanoparticles via condensation of vapour-phase atoms or molecules in an inert gas.

Magnetron sputtering: Erosion of a target material by energetic ions in a plasma to generate vapour for nanoparticle formation.

Inert gas condensation: Nucleation and growth of clusters from a supersaturated vapour by cooling in an inert atmosphere.

Multiple ion cluster source: Apparatus that produces high-flux nanoparticle beams by magnetron sputtering into a gas aggregation chamber.

Time-of-flight filter: Mechanical device that analyses nanoparticle velocities by measuring transit times through slotted rotors.

Soft landing: Deposition of nanoparticles at low kinetic energy to preserve their structure on substrates.

Core@shell nanoparticle: Nanostructure in which a core material is encapsulated within a distinct shell layer.

Localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR): Collective oscillation of conduction electrons in metal nanoparticles when excited by light.

In operando optical emission spectroscopy: Real-time optical monitoring of plasma emission lines for dynamic control of nanoparticle composition.

References

1. Insoluble Network Skeleton and Soluble Components of Nylon 6,6-Sputtered Nanoparticles: Insights from Liquid-State and Solid-State NMR Analysis. Nanomaterials (2024).
2. Precisely controlled fabrication, manipulation and in-situ analysis of Cu based nanoparticles. Scientific Reports (2018).
3. Mechanical time-of-flight filter based on slotted disks and helical rotor for measurement of velocities of nanoparticles. Scientific Reports (2021).
4. Single-step generation of metal-plasma polymer multicore@shell nanoparticles from the gas phase. Scientific Reports (2017).
5. Long-Term Plasmonic Stability of Copper Nanoparticles Produced by Gas-Phase Aggregation Method Followed by UV-Ozone Treatment. Applied Nano (2022).
6. Enhancing composition control of alloy nanoparticles from gas aggregation source by in operando optical emission spectroscopy. Plasma Processes and Polymers (2020).