Application of plasma technologies to particle surface treatment systems and preparation of functionalized particle materials

摘要

Particle surface modification of powdered materials has currently attracted considerable attention in various industrial and scientific fields. However, conventional wet processes, such as plating and impregnation method, produce wastewater streams containing potentially harmful residual chemicals. In addition, the wet processes involve the decomposition of precursors by heating and chemical reduction, which interfere with controlled surface modification. To avoid such drawbacks of wet processes, we have developed novel particle surface modification methods based on the plasma technologies. In our original surface modification methods, a polygonal barrel containing the powdered sample is rotated or oscillated to stir the particles during treatment, achieving the uniform modification of the particle surfaces. Since plasma technologies used in our methods are categorized as dry processes, they do not accompany wastewater discharge. Furthermore, the treatment in our methods is carried out without heating or chemical reduction, allowing controlled surface modification. This report describes the particle surface modification using the “polygonal barrel-sputtering method”, “polygonal barrel-plasma chemical vapor deposition method”, and “polygonal barrel-plasma treatment method”.