Effects of Liquid Environments on the Distribution of Hafnium Oxide and Hafnium Carbide Nanoparticles from Pulsed-Laser Synthesis: Implications for High-Melting Ceramics

Laser ablation in liquids (LAL) is an emerging laser technique for rapidly producing surfactant-free nanoparticles (NPs), which require minimal postprocessing and purification. Current work employing LAL has primarily focused on the generation of metal oxides and NPs composed of a single element. Here, we show that the ablation of hafnium (Hf) foil in different organic liquids allows for the controlled synthesis of HfO2 and HfC in selected ratios, resulting in a synthetic scheme for the rational design of materials relevant for high temperature and plasma applications. Additionally, the physical properties of the organic solvents can dictate the overall NP size distribution; specifically, solvents with low boiling points produce a large dispersity of NPs. This work indicates that the material-formation process is much more complicated than previous studies have indicated and paves the way for a pulsed-laser synthesis methodology that is tunable for desired properties.