Hm. Lin et al., SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF NANOCRYSTALLINE POWDERS OF PURE NICKEL AND COPPER, Materials chemistry and physics, 34(3-4), 1993, pp. 205-213
Nanocrystalline particles of pure copper and nickel with a diameter of
less than 0.1 mum have been produced by evaporating these metals into
an inert gas atmosphere. A specific gas-evaporator apparatus was buil
t to control the size of the nanocrystalline particles by adjusting th
e following factors: the evaporation rate of metals, the distance betw
een the evaporation crucible and the collection cold trap (LN2), the p
ressure, and the type of carrier gas. The results indicated that the m
ean particle size of Cu varied from 13 to 104 nm and that of Ni varied
from 7 to 53 nm, with the absolute He pressure varying from 10 to 500
mbar. When the evaporation temperature increases, the evaporation rat
es rises and the particle size distribution becomes broader. Also, und
er a constant evaporation rate and absolute He pressure, varying the p
article collection distance causes a change in the mean particle size.
In the flowing helium process, the particles are more homogeneous and
finer than those produced in the static process.