Nanosize powder advanced materials, method of manufacturing and of using same

Method for producing nanoparticles, comprising:

• feeding a precursor material in fluid form toward a reaction zone along a feed path, the reaction zone being in a reaction chamber, the reaction chamber having a longitudinal axis,
• generating a plasma in the reaction zone, the plasma contacting the precursor material to produce a reactant gaseous mixture,
• injecting gas to generate a radial gas flow in the reaction chamber along at least a portion of the longitudinal axis, and
• cooling the reactant gaseous mixture in a cooling zone to cause nucleation and produce the nanoparticles.

An apparatus for producing nanoparticles, comprising:

• a reaction chamber having a longitudinal axis and a reaction zone, the reaction zone being configured to accept a precursor material fed in fluid form toward the reaction zone along a feed path,
• a plasma-generation device configured for generating a plasma in the reaction zone, the plasma contacting the precursor material to produce a reactant gaseous mixture,
• an injection device configured for injecting a gas to generate a radial gas flow in the reaction chamber along at least a portion of the longitudinal axis, and
• a cooling zone configured for cooling the reactant gaseous mixture to cause nucleation and produce the nanoparticles.