Patent ID: 8642139

Claim:
A process for making a composite material containing structured particles, the process including: providing a first precursor in the form of a dry precursor carbon powder; providing a first gas; providing a microwave source of at least 900 watts; generating a plasma using the microwave source, the plasma having a high field zone and an afterglow region, the afterglow region being downstream of the high field zone; passing the first gas and the first precursor through the high field zone of the plasma; decomposing at least part of the first precursor in the high field zone of the plasma; providing a second precursor containing a second material, the second precursor being a dry precursor nanoparticle powder; suspending the dry precursor nanoparticle powder in a second gas to produce an aerosol; passing the aerosol with the dry precursor nanoparticle powder into the afterglow region, whereby the high field zone is bypassed by the aerosol and the dry precursor nanoparticle powder; removing the first precursor that has been decomposed from the high field zone of the plasma; and allowing at least part of the first precursor that has been decomposed to condense onto the dry precursor nanoparticle powder in the afterglow region in the aerosol to produce structured nanoparticles having an outer average mean diameter of less than 200 nanometers, the structured nanoparticles being frozen into their final configuration in the afterglow region.