Lutetium coating of nanoparticles by atomic layer deposition Available to Purchase

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a versatile gas phase coating technique that allows coating of complex structured materials, as well as high-surface area materials such as nanoparticles. In this work, ALD is used to deposit a lutetium oxide layer on TiO₂ nanoparticles (P25) in a fluidized bed reactor to produce particles for nuclear medical applications. Two precursors were tested: the commercially available Lu(TMHD)₃ and the custom-made Lu(HMDS)₃. Using Lu(TMHD)₃, a lutetium loading up to 15 wt. % could be obtained, while using Lu(HMDS)₃, only 0.16 wt. % Lu could be deposited due to decomposition of the precursor. Furthermore, it was observed that vibration-assisted fluidization allows for better fluidization of the nanoparticles and hence a higher degree of coating.