Sonication-accelerated catalytic synthesis of oxide nanoparticles

SummaryHigh throughput synthesis of nanocrystalline cubic oxides and perovskites is achieved through the synergetic contribution of sonication to accelerate the reaction kinetics of low-temperature vapor diffusion catalytic fabrication from the alkoxide precursors. In this quantitative yield process, multiple-gram synthesis of uniform-sized, highly crystalline ceria (3.8 nm) and barium titanate (5.6 nm) nanocrystals is accomplished with a significant acceleration of throughput over that obtained without sonication. The ability to produce oxide nanomaterials with different structural complexities in a high throughput generalized process is a significant step toward meeting the increased needs for mass production of high performance materials.