Amorphous aluminum-carbide and aluminum–magnesium-carbide nanoparticles from gas phase activation of trimethylaluminum and octamethyldialuminummagnesium using simultaneous spatially and temporally focused ultrashort laser pulses

Gas-phase laser irradiation of head-space AlMe33(g) using simultaneous spatially and temporally focused pulses results in nucleation of Al-rich nanoparticles, which fall from the gas phase into the liquid-phase precursor to give a black suspension of nanoparticles. Isolation of the particles and characterization by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray dispersive energy, vibrational, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy identify the material as amorphous aluminum- and carbide-containing nanoparticles. An analogous experiment using Al22MgMe88 as a precursor results in nanoparticles containing both Al and Mg atoms.

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