Development of Exothermic Nanoparticles Fabrication Technique for Tunable Exothermic Performance

Abstract

In this study, we focus on developing a fabrication technique for self-propagating exothermic nanoparticles, which are made of biocompatible materials, Si and Ti, used for cancer treatment. Atomized heating method was employed to fabricate porous silica nanoparticles. The influences of heater temperature, nitrogen gas flow rate, polystyrene particle’s diameter and its density in the slurry on the size and shape of the silica nanoparticles were investigated. Then, the fabricated porous silica nanoparticles were deoxidized by molten-salt plasma electrolysis technique, which could reduce oxygen percentage in a particle to 27 at%. Ti was deposited in pores and on the particle by dc magnetron sputtering to make exothermic nanoparticles made of Ti and SiO. By supplying an electric shock, Ti/SiO nanoparticles successfully reacted, and the exothermic reaction gradually propagated. The combination of atomized heating, molten-salt plasma electrolysis, and sputtering techniques enabled us to realize producing self-propagating exothermic nanoparticles made of biocompatible materials.