Spray-flame synthesis offers a promising approach for the production of functional nanomaterials. The viability of this route has already been proven for a wide range of materials on the laboratory scale. Compared to existing large-scale methods for nanomaterials synthesis in pure gas-phase processes, spray-flame synthesis provides access to a wealth of additional materials that cannot be produced with other processes. Industrial applications of spray-flame synthesis have not been developed so far due to the necessity of expensive precursor materials and a lack of process understanding. This situation should be overcome by an interdisciplinary research approach within the SPP1980 that will lay the foundations for practical applications of spray-flame synthesis. The prospects are excellent via an interdisciplinary collaborative network that links recent developments on experimental, theoretical, and simulation techniques that have been previously used in their individual research disciplines. Their combination will allow to analyze and describe the underlying sub-processes that are relevant in the context of spray-flame synthesis. Sub-processes will be analyzed and their understanding will be integrated into comprehensive models that provides the chance for the development of processes that are based on inexpensive starting materials and that can be scaled-up to an industrial scale for the targeted production of materials with a wide range of characteristics.

This approach is based on the development and application of specific in situ analytical methods, the preparation of chemical mechanisms by fundamental kinetics experiments and theoretical calculations, and a comprehensive simulation of the underlying process chain: precursor solution – spray – flame – particles. Of central importance are the development and application of a standardized experiment – the so-called SpraySyn burner – which is to be established as a reference experiment with a comprehensive validation data set. It will serve as an anchor point for the research and development of particle synthesis in spray flames.

Downstream processes for morphological modification of the product initially formed and the study of isolated individual aspects are not part of SPP.

The Priority Program is divided into thematic blocks

• In situ diagnostics
• Theory and simulation
• Processes

Connecting elements are a common experimental configuration (the SpraySyn burner) and the focus on predefined materials systems. All projects are immediately influenced by these definitions, thus ensuring the coherence of the research in SPP1980.

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