Two-dimensional imaging of gas-to-particle transition in flames by laser-induced nanoplasmas

Two-dimensional imaging of gas/particle phase transition of metal oxides in their native high-temperature flow conditions, using laser-driven localized nanoplasmas, was obtained by utilizing the gap between the excitation energies of the gas and particle phases such that only the Ti atoms in the particle phase were selectively excited without detectable Bremsstrahlung background. These in situ images of the particle phase Ti distribution allow the quantitative visualization of the transition of the gas precursors to the nanoparticle phase across the flame sheet as well as diffusion of the particle concentration in the post-flame zone. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.