Internal force-controlled (IFC) sonication with tunable conditions for the large-scale preparation of porous silicon nanoparticles

Abstract

Porous silicon nanoparticles (pSiNPs) have garnered significant attention for various applications, including drug delivery and biosensing. Conventionally, their production has been restricted to small-scale synthesis, often resulting in nanoparticles of variable sizes, which has limited their commercialization and practical use. In this study, we present a novel method for the scalable production of pSiNPs on a gram scale in a relatively short time using internal force-controlled (IFC) sonication. IFC sonication ensures power adjustment (from 60 W to 300 W), short processing times (<3 h), high yield (63.0 ± 4.18 %), and high reproducibility. This method produces nanoparticles with a superior degree of uniformity and consistent sizes, thereby addressing size variation challenges observed in previous approaches. These advancements facilitate large-scale production and enhance the reproducibility and applicability of pSiNPs in various fields.