Film Growth Rates and Activation Energies for Core-Shell Nanoparticles Derived from a CVD Based Aerosol Process

Silica core-shell nanoparticles of about 60–120 nm with a closed outer layer of bismuth or molybdenum oxide of 1–10 nm were synthesized by an integrated chemical vapor synthesis/chemical vapor deposition process at atmospheric pressure. Film growth rates and activation energies were derived from transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images for a deposition process based on molybdenum hexacarbonyl and triphenyl bismuth as respective coating precursors. Respective activation energies of 123 ± 10 and 155 ± 10 kJ/mol are in good agreement with the literature and support a deposition mechanism based on surface-induced removal of the precursor ligands. Clean substrate surfaces are thus prerequisite for conformal coatings. Integrated aerosol processes are solvent-free and intrinsically clean. In contrast, commercial silica substrate particles were found to suffer from organic residues which hinder shell formation, and require an additional calcination step to clean the surface prior to coating. Dual layer core-shell structures with molybdenum oxide on bismuth oxide were synthesized with two coating reactors in series and showed similar film growth rates.