Patent ID: 7862782

Claim:
An apparatus for the synthesis of nanoparticles in a dense fluid medium, the apparatus comprising: (a) a reaction vessel defining an internal reaction chamber; (b) a first electrode housed within the reaction chamber comprising: (i) a first discharge face defining a first central electrode opening; and (ii) a first electrode wall extending upwardly from the first discharge face and defining a first electrode cavity extending upwardly from the first central electrode opening; (c) a second electrode housed within the reaction chamber comprising: (i) a second discharge face defining a second central electrode opening; and (ii) a second electrode wall extending downwardly from the second discharge face and defining a second electrode cavity extending downwardly from the second central electrode opening; wherein the first discharge face is disposed opposite and facing the second discharge face and the first central electrode opening is disposed opposite and facing the second central electrode opening, such that the first discharge face and the second discharge face are separated by a gap and the first electrode cavity, the second electrode cavity, and the gap provide a cavitation zone; (d) a gas inlet port that opens into the cavitation zone; and (e) a dense fluid medium inlet port for introducing the dense fluid medium into the reaction chamber.