Numerical Modelling of Formation of Highly Ordered Structured Micro- and Nanoparticles – A Review

Abstract

The aerosol particles play a significant role in the environment and human health. They are also increasingly used in medicine (drug carriers), preparation (nanocatalysts) and many other fields. For these applications, the particles have to possess unique properties which arise directly from their structure and topology. Indeed, the functionality of the nanostructure particle is defined through its application, like chromatography, sensors, microelectronics, catalysis, and others. That is the reason why people are more and more interested in manufacturing structured particles. The structured particles are the particles with well-defined topological structure. Examples of such particles are porous particles, hollow particles (with the empty space inside), or multi-component particles with the segregation of components in the particle structure. Such particles usually have very interesting features, e.g. porous particles have a significantly larger surface area than the simple spherical particles with similar volume. The present paper contains a comprehensive review of the numerical simulation methods of the formation of highly ordered structured particles. The most important methods will be described in detail and their fields of application (with specific examples), advantages, limitations and information about their accuracy will be given.