Nanoparticles
Nanoparticles are found in many areas of modern life, from the black toner in a laser printer and the white pigment in paint, to self-cleaning coatings on windows. However, not all nanoparticles are useful. Soot, a by-product of incomplete combustion, can be harmful to the environment and human health. Understanding the mechanisms by which these particles are formed and grow will help us understand how their size and shape might be tuned to promote useful properties, or assist in preventing their formation in the first place.
Within the CoMo group we employ a variety of techniques to model the growth and morphology of nanoparticles. From the most fundamental level, quantum chemistry techniques are employed to determine the stable energy states of chemical species associated with the gas-phase chemistry. By performing these calculations we hope to better understand the kinetics of the complex reaction pathways that lead to nanoparticle formation. But it doesn't end there. Once the smallest particles have been formed and are in a stable state in the system, growth systems take over. These range from the coagulation of particles and surface growth processes (gas-phase chemicals reacting on the surface of the particles), to restructuring processes also known as sintering - where the surface area of the particle reduces towards that of a perfect sphere. All these processes must be modelled accurately so that we can determine the sizes and shapes of the full population of particles. The Monte Carlo techniques employed to solve the underlying population balance equation have allowed us to describe the particles in such detail that we are now able to observe the full 3-dimensional structure of individual particles.
Recent Associated Preprints
298: Influence of the types of oxygenated fuels on the characteristics of soot emitted from a CI engine
Yong Ren Tan, Qiren Zhu, Yichen Zong, Jiawei Lai, Maurin Salamanca, Jethro Akroyd, Wenming Yang, and Markus Kraft, Technical Report 298, c4e-Preprint Series, Cambridge, 2022.
Chung Ting Lao, Jethro Akroyd, and Markus Kraft, Technical Report 291, c4e-Preprint Series, Cambridge, 2022.
290: Effects of particle collection in a premixed stagnation flame synthesis with a rotating substrate
Manoel Y. Manuputty, Rong Xu, and Markus Kraft, Technical Report 290, c4e-Preprint Series, Cambridge, 2022.
288: Injection of charge from non-thermal plasma into a soot forming laminar coflow diffusion flame
Yong Ren Tan, Yichen Zong, Maurin Salamanca, Jacob W. Martin, Jochen Dreyer, Jethro Akroyd, Wenming Yang, and Markus Kraft, Technical Report 288, c4e-Preprint Series, Cambridge, 2022.
Recent Associated Publications
Yong Ren Tan, Qiren Zhu, Yichen Zong, Maurin Salamanca, Jiawei Lai, Jethro Akroyd, Wenming Yang, and Markus Kraft, Fuel 338, 127296, (2023).
Mutian Ma, Laura-Hélèna Rivellini, Nethmi Kasthuriarachchi, Qiren Zhu, Yichen Zong, Wenbin Yu, Wenming Yang, Markus Kraft, and Alex K.Y. Lee, Atmospheric Environment: X 18, 100216, (2023).
Modelling treatment of deposits in particulate filters for internal combustion emissions
Chung Ting Lao, Jethro Akroyd, and Markus Kraft, Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 96, 101043, (2023).
Evaluating the effect of n-butanol additive on particulate matter emission in diesel engine
Qiren Zhu, Yichen Zong, Yong Ren Tan, Jieyao Lyu, Wenbin Yu, Wenming Yang, and Markus Kraft, Fuel 332(1), 126003, (2023).
Funding
Funding has generously been provided by EPSRC, Huntsman, University of Cambridge, and The Royal Society.