Atomic Layer Deposition on Particles: 35 Years of Progress in One Landmark Review

A major review of atomic layer deposition (ALD) on particulate materials (ALDpm) has been published in a recent issue of ACS Chemistry of Materials: Chem. Mater. 2026, 38, 1, 20–86. 

The full paper, titled “Atomic Layer Deposition on Particulate Materials from 1988 through 2023: A Quantitative Review of Technologies, Materials, and Applications” and authored by Peter M. Piechulla, Mingliang Chen, Aris Goulas, Riikka Puurunen, and J. Ruud van Ommen, can be found here:

https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemmater.5c01919

Why is ALDpm important?

Coating the surfaces of particulate materials with a second material can significantly enhance their properties and functionality. While traditional liquid-based methods can struggle to coat particulates, ALD can realise precise and homogenous coatings on a range of particulate materials, including powders, nanoparticles, and porous materials. As such, ALDpm has underpinned developments across a multitude of applications, namely catalysis, energy storage, and healthcare, and there is a significant body of literature describing ALDpm.

The review: a data-driven approach

The authors, from Delft University of Technology and Aalto University, performed an extensive bottom-up, quantitative analysis of over 74,000 data entries from 799 articles, providing an overview of the development of ALDpm from the first published report in 1988 through to recent advances in 2023. Utilising the findings of the Virtual Project on the History of ALD (VPHA), the authors traced the earliest investigations of ALD on particles back to the 1960s in the USSR and the 1970s in Finland. This review is comprehensive – covering a range of topics in the ALDpm field: reactor types tailored for particles, coating materials, reactants, supports, and processing conditions.

ALDpm for all!

The authors wanted to make their review process truly open to everyone: 

• The full dataset is available on Zenodo (https://zenodo.org/records/17968436).
• The analysis scripts can be found on GitHub (https://github.com/P4Science/ALDpm).
• Newly created visuals are shared on Wikimedia Commons.
• The review is available to read with Open Access. 

Looking ahead

This review highlights how ALDpm has grown from early conceptual studies in the 1960s to a globally relevant technology with a range of applications. With an openly available dataset, the authors invite the field continued developments in the field, as ALD-coating of particles remains a key driver of technological advancement.

Feel free to leave a comment or like on the author's LinkedIn post below: