Size-resolved kinetic measurements of aluminum nanoparticle oxidation with single particle mass spectrometry

Aluminum nanoparticles are being considered as a possible fuel in advanced energetic materials application. Of considerable interest therefore is a knowledge of just how reactive these materials are, and what the effect of size on reactivity is. In this paper we describe results of size resolved oxidation rate using a recently developed quantitative single particle mass spectrometer (SPMS). Aluminum nanoparticles used were either generated by DC Arc discharge or laser ablation, or by use of commercial aluminum nanopowders. These particles were oxidized in an aerosol flow reactor in air for specified various temperatures (25-1100 degrees C), and subsequently sampled by the SPMS. The mass spectra obtained were used to quantitatively determine the elemental composition of individual particles and their size. We found that the reactivity of aluminum nanoparticles is enhanced with decreasing primary particle size. Aluminum nanoparticles produced from the DC Arc, which produced the smallest primary particle size (approximately 19 nm), were found to be the most reactive (approximately 68% aluminum nanoparticles completely oxidized to aluminum oxide at 900 degrees C). In contrast, nanopowders with primary particle size greater than approximately 50 nm were not fully oxidized even at 1100 degrees C (approximately 4%). The absolute rates observed were found to be consistent with an oxide diffusion controlled rate-limiting step. We also determined the size-dependent diffusion-limited rate constants and Arrehenius parameters (activation energy and pre-exponential factor). We found that as the particle size decreases, the rate constant increases and the activation energy decreases. This work provides a quantification of the known pyrophoric nature of fine metal particles.