Advancements in Atomic Layer Deposition for Scalable Particle Coating

Recent research by Angel Yanguas-Gil and Jeffrey W. Elam focuses on the modeling of atomic layer deposition (ALD) for particle coating, particularly as it transitions from laboratory settings to large-scale manufacturing. Their work presents various models that encompass different manufacturing approaches, including rotary bed, fluidized bed, and continuously vibrating reactors.

Key findings from the study indicate that designs which facilitate the flow of precursors through fluidized particles can achieve a quicker transition to a transport-limited regime, thereby maximizing throughput and precursor utilization. The models suggest that continuous processes could potentially reach self-extinguishing states with nearly 100% precursor utilization.

The researchers compared their models with previous experimental results from ALD in fluidized bed reactors, noting strong qualitative and quantitative agreement. This research is significant as it provides essential metrics for evaluating the scalability of ALD manufacturing techniques, which are crucial for energy applications such as energy storage, catalysis, and decarbonization.

The full paper titled "Modeling scale-up of particle coating by atomic layer deposition" can be accessed on arXiv, and it is cited as arXiv:2408.13116.