Fluidized bed coating efficiency and morphology of coatings for producing Al-based nanocomposite hollow spheres

We performed fluidized bed coating of Al-based nanocomposite powder-binder suspensions onto polymer substrates. The effects of the type and amount of the binder and nanoparticle additive on the coating process efficiency and coating characteristics were investigated. The efficiency decreased from 52% to 49% as the processing time increased from 15 to 20 min. However, the amount and thickness of the coating also increased as the processing time and amount of the binder were increased. The addition of nanoparticles to the system decreased the thickness of the coating from 222 to 207 μm when polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) was used as a binder. The suspension containing 3wt% R-4410 binder exhibited the greatest efficiency of 60%.