A cheaper way to scale up atomic layer deposition
J. Luterbacher (EPFL)
However, using ALD for depositing layers on larger surfaces has been a struggle, especially when it comes to manufacturing materials that must be kept at low cost, e.g. catalysts and solar devices.
"The sticking point is not necessarily making the right material but making it cheaply," explains Professor Jeremy Luterbacher, head of EPFL's Laboratory of Sustainable and Catalytic Processing (LPDC). "Coating larger surface areas with gas-phase methods requires long deposition times, and huge excesses of precursor, both of which increase costs," adds Benjamin Le Monnier, the PhD student who performed most of the research.
Now, the LPDC has developed a solution. Using ALD in a liquid phase, the scientists can produce materials indistinguishable from those made in the gas phase, with far cheaper equipment and no excess precursors.
Greater precision cuts costs
The researchers achieved this breakthrough by carefully measuring the ratio of the reacting precursors before injecting them onto the surface of a substrate. This way, they used exactly the right amount of precursor, with no leftovers that can cause unwanted reactions or be wasted.
The new method also reduces costs by requiring only standard lab equipment for chemical synthesis. It can also be easily scaled up to coat more than 150 g of material with the same cheap equipment, without loss of coating quality. The technique can even achieve coatings that are not possible using gas-phase ALD, e.g. by using non-volatile precursors.
"We believe that this technique could greatly democratize the use ALD on catalysts and other high surface area materials," says Luterbacher.
Original publication
Other news from the department science
Get the chemical industry in your inbox
From now on, don't miss a thing: Our newsletter for the chemical industry, analytics, lab technology and process engineering brings you up to date every Tuesday and Thursday. The latest industry news, product highlights and innovations - compact and easy to understand in your inbox. Researched by us so you don't have to.