Centrifugal Microfluidic Synthesis of Nickel Sesquioxide Nanoparticles

Jiayou Mou; Chenxi Wang; Hongyi Zhao; Chuwei Xiong; Yong Ren; Jing Wang; Dan Jiang; Zansheng Zheng

doi:10.3390/mi14091741

Centrifugal Microfluidic Synthesis of Nickel Sesquioxide Nanoparticles

Micromachines (Basel). 2023 Sep 6;14(9):1741. doi: 10.3390/mi14091741.

Authors

Jiayou Mou^{1

2}, Chenxi Wang^{3

4}, Hongyi Zhao², Chuwei Xiong², Yong Ren^{1

2

5

6}, Jing Wang^{6

7

8}, Dan Jiang⁹, Zansheng Zheng⁹

Affiliations

¹ Research Group for Fluids and Thermal Engineering, University of Nottingham Ningbo China, Ningbo 315100, China.
² Department of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Nottingham Ningbo China, Ningbo 315100, China.
³ Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Nottingham Ningbo China, Ningbo 315100, China.
⁴ New Materials Institute, University of Nottingham Ningbo China, Ningbo 315100, China.
⁵ Key Laboratory of Carbonaceous Wastes Processing and Process Intensification Research of Zhejiang Province, University of Nottingham Ningbo China, Ningbo 315100, China.
⁶ Nottingham Ningbo China Beacons of Excellence Research and Innovation Institute, University of Nottingham Ningbo China, Ningbo 315154, China.
⁷ Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Nottingham Ningbo China, Ningbo 315100, China.
⁸ Key Laboratory of More Electric Aircraft Technology of Zhejiang Province, University of Nottingham Ningbo China, Ningbo 315100, China.
⁹ Ningbo Chemgoo Pharma Tech Co., Ltd., Ningbo 315800, China.

Abstract

Nickel sesquioxide (Ni₂O₃) nanoparticles were synthesized using centrifugal microfluidics in the present study. The obtained nanoparticles were characterized using SEM to investigate their morphology and microstructure, and XRD was employed to analyze their purity. The nanoparticle size data were measured and analyzed using ImageJ (v1.8.0) software. The flow process and mixing procedure were monitored through computational fluid dynamics simulation. Among the synthesized Ni₂O₃ nanoparticles, those obtained at the rotation speed of 1000 rpm for 10 min with angular acceleration of 4.2 rad/s² showed the best performance in terms of high purity, complete shape and microstructure, small diameter, and narrow diameter distribution. The experimental results demonstrate that the rotation speed of the microfluidic chip and reaction time contribute to a decrease in particle diameter and a narrower diameter distribution range. In contrast, an increase in acceleration of the rotation speed leads to an expanded nanoparticle size range and, thus, a wider distribution. These findings contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the effects exerted by various factors in centrifugal microfluidics and will provide new insights into nanoparticle synthesis using centrifugal microfluidic technology.

Keywords: centrifugal microfluidic; nanoparticles; nickel sesquioxide.

Grants and funding

2020E10018/Zhejiang Provincial Department of Science and Technology