424 Chemistry and Technology of Fuels and Oils, Vol. 46, No.6, 2011 FABRICATION OF NANOSTRUCTURED MATERIALS IN ULTRAHIGH-FREQUENCY DISCHARGE PLASMA K. A. Arapov, P. A. Gushchin, E. V. Ivanov, and V. A. Vinokurov Erosion of electrode material in ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) discharge plasma was investigated as a method of obtaining highly disperse powders and complex multiphase systems. The effect of the flow rate of the plasma-forming gas on electrode erosion was investigated. Data are reported on the effect of the current on electrode erosion in conditions of UHF-discharge plasma. The products or erosion obtained were characterized and investigated by scanning electron microscopy and other methods. The possible areas of application of these materials in science and technology are examined. Key words: nanostructured materials, UHF-discharge plasma, electrode erosion, metal oxides, metal alloy. Many high-temperature technologies in metallurgy, chemistry, energetics, and aerospace engineering are based on the use of low-temperature plasma. Low-temperature plasma, particularly ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) discharge plasma, is increasingly being used in processing of hydrocarbon gases [1], coal [2], and even solid household wastes [3]. The relative simplicity of implementation and high efficiency (up to 70-80%) of transmission of energy to the reaction medium is an advantage of UHF plasma-chemical systems. The operating life of direct- and alternating-current industrial plasmatrons is a function of electrode consumption caused by erosion of the electrode. Electrode erosion is the result of the effect of the electrical discharges on its surface which result in entrainment of mass and a change in the structure and surface morphology of the electrode. This process is accompanied by the appearance of local foci of melting and evaporation of the metal and possible chemical and electrochemical processes. It can also be caused by collisions of ionized gas with the electrode, “knocking out” particles of the electrode material. Electrode erosion is caused by the high specific surface area of the material and the high temperature of its surface layer, which increases the kinetic energy of the surface atoms. There is a multitude of published studies of the mechanisms of erosion in UHF-discharge plasma, but comparatively few studies of the products of electrode erosion. Methods of magnetron sputtering in high-frequency plasma are an exception. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ I. M. Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas. Translated from Khimiya i Tekhnologiya Topliv i Masel , No. 6, pp. 44 – 47, 2010. 0009-3092/11/4606–0424  2011 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.