The key to the process is that we're able to produce stable, high-purity particles in large quantities. We're also able to control particle size. In the past, purity and stability have been drawbacks to successful, cost-efficient nanoparticle production. SFE creates pure particles because the reactants and products are clustered about the flame and do not interact with the reactor walls. The salt encapsulates the produced nanoparticles making them air-stable.
Salt also plays a role in the ability to produce large quantities of nanoparticles.
In materials science, smaller is better. Industry today produces particles for catalysts in the micrometer size range, 1000-times larger than nanoparticles. By achieving the nanoparticle size range, the surface area of a given weight of catalyst can be thousands of times larger. The result is much more active catalysts or the use of much less catalyst to achieve a desired reaction rate. The technology could be useful in fields other than catalysis.