US Patent 8088193 - Nanoparticle production via rubbing

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8088193.html

This patent from inventor Taofang Zeng teaches an inexpensive chemical method to manufacture nanoparticles using polishing equipment from chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP). Claim 1 reads:

1. A method for making nanoparticles, comprising:

dipping a metal element in a solution that contains metallic ions or ions with a metal, wherein the metal element has a lower electronegativity or redox potential than that of the metal in the ions; and

rubbing the metal element to make nanoparticles.