Rapid Automated Materials Synthesis Instrument: Exploring the Composition and Heat-Treatment of Nanoprecursors Toward Low Temperature Red Phosphors

We report on the commissioning experimental run of the rapid automated materials synthesis instrument (RAMSI), a combinatorial robot designed to manufacture, clean, and print libraries of nanocrystal precursor solid compositions. The first stage of RAMSI, parallel synthesis, uses a fully automated high throughput continuous hydrothermal (HiTCH) flow reactor for automatic metal salt precursor mixing, hydrothermal flow reaction, and sample slurry collection. The second stage of RAMSI provides integrated automated cleanup, and the third section is a ceramic printing function. Nanocrystal precursor solid ceramics were synthesized from precursor solutions and collected into 50 mL centrifuge tubes where they were cleaned by multiple centrifugation and redispersion cycles (monitored by intelligent scanning turbidimetry) and printed with an automated pipette. Eight unique compositions of a model phosphor library comprising pure nano-Y(OH)3 and Eu3+ doped-yttrium hydroxide, Y(OH)3:Eu3+ nanocrystal precursor solid ...