Abstract
The synthesis of functional nanostructured powders has been developed through reactive thermal plasma processing. Nanosized particles of titanium oxide powder with high crystallinity and non-equilibrium chemical composition were synthesised by one-step processing based on the oxidation of solid and liquid precursors. Spherical carbon powders were treated in a reactive thermal plasma. Crystallinity, chemical composition, and surface morphology were changed in plasma-treated carbon powders. Plasma-treated carbon powders were used as the anode of a lithium-ion rechargeable battery, and improvements in discharge capacity and efficiency were recognized. The generation of pulse-modulated RF inductively coupled plasmas (PM-ICPs) was developed for the first time. The non-equilibrium states were recognized at the instances of pulse-on and pulse-off, and the concentration of chemically active radical species was increased. This offers a unique physico-chemical condition for materials processing.
