Synthesizing aluminum particles towards controlling electrostatic discharge ignition sensitivity

•Al particles were synthesized with varied alumina shell thickness.•Al + MoO3 were examined for ESD ignition sensitivity.•Electrical conductance is directly proportional to ESD ignition sensitivity.•Ignition delay increased as the Al2O3 shell thickness increased.•Model simulations of joule heating correspond with experimental results.

Aluminum particles were synthesized with shell thicknesses ranging from 2.7 to 8.3 nm and a constant diameter of 95 nm. These fuel particles were combined with molybdenum trioxide particles and the electrostatic discharge (ESD) sensitivity of the mixture was measured. Results show ignition delay increased as the alumina shell thickness increased. These results correlated with electrical resistivity measurements of the mixture which increased with alumina concentration. A model was developed using COMSOL for ignition of a single Al particle. The ignition delay in the model was consistent with the experimental results suggesting that the primary ESD ignition mechanism is joule heating.