Highly crystalline nanoparticles of metal oxides play a key role in a variety of modern technologies and can be tailor-made using flame spray pyrolysis. However, the fundamentals of nanoparticle formation within the spray flame and the influence of process control on droplet evaporation are unclear. 

Malte Stodt has devoted himself to this topic in his dissertation on "Laser Diagnostics in Spray Flame Mixing Processes during the Synthesis of Metal Oxide Nanoparticles". In his work, Malte Stodt dealt intensively with the atomization and evaporation of precursor-containing droplets and showed that precursor droplets within the sprays undergo so-called droplet microexplosions (μ-explosions) in order to release the metallic precursor into the gas phase. He has also used spatio-temporal analysis to describe the temporal self-similarity of various sprays and thus made a significant contribution to current research in process engineering. 

His successfully passed colloquium reflects the outstanding quality of his doctoral thesis. Congratulations!