Gas Phase Synthesis of Multi-Element Nanoparticles

The advantages of gas-phase synthesis of nanoparticles in terms of size control and flexibility in choice of materials is well known. There is increasing interest in synthesizing multi-element nanoparticles in order to optimize their performance in specific applications, and here, the flexibility of material choice is a key advantage. Mixtures of almost any solid materials can be manufactured and in the case of core–shell particles, there is independent control over core size and shell thickness. This review presents different methods of producing multi-element nanoparticles, including the use of multiple targets, alloy targets and in-line deposition methods to coat pre-formed cores. It also discusses the factors that produce alloy, core–shell or Janus morphologies and what is possible or not to synthesize. Some applications of multi-element nanoparticles in medicine will be described.