• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.409-413
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• 2016

Electrical wire explosion in liquid media is a promising method for producing metallic nanopowders. It is possible to obtain high-purity metallic nanoparticles and uniform-sized nanopowder with excellent dispersion stability using this electrical wire explosion method. In this study, Ni-Fe alloy nanopowders with core-shell structures are fabricated via the electrical explosion of Ni-Fe alloy wires 0.1 mm in diameter and 20 mm in length in de-ionized water. The size and shape of the powders are investigated by field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and laser particle size analysis. Phase analysis and grain size determination are conducted by X-ray diffraction. The result indicate that a core-shell structured Ni-Fe nanopowder is synthesized with an average particle size of approximately 28 nm, and nanosized Ni core particles are encapsulated by an Fe nanolayer.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.14-24
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• 2020

In this work, the electrical explosion of wire in liquid and subsequent spark plasma sintering (SPS) was introduced for the fabrication of Ni-graphite nanocomposites. The fabricated composite exhibited good enhancements in mechanical properties, such as yield strength and hardness, but reduced the ductility in comparison with that of nickel. The as-synthesized Ni-graphite (5 vol.% graphite) nanocomposite exhibited a compressive yield strength of 275 MPa (about 1.6 times of SPS-processed monolithic nickel ~170 MPa) and elongation to failure ~22%. The hardness of Ni-graphite composite had a value of 135.46 HV, which is about 1.3 times higher than that of pure SPS-processed Ni (105.675 HV). In terms of processing, this work demonstrated that this processing route is a novel, simple, and low-cost method for the synthesis of nickel-graphite composites.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.449-457
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• 2020

Iron and copper are practically immiscible in the equilibrium state, even though their atomic radii are similar. As non-equilibrium solid solutions, the metastable Fe-Cu alloys can be synthesized using special methods, such as rapid quenching, vapor deposition, sputtering, ion-beam mixing, and mechanical alloying. The complexity of these methods (multiple steps, low productivity, high cost, and non-eco-friendliness) is a hinderance for their industrial applications. Electrical explosion of wire (EEW) is a well-known and effective method for the synthesis of metallic and alloy nanoparticles, and fabrication using the EEW is a simple and economic process. Therefore, it can be potentially employed to circumvent this problem. In this work, we propose the synthesis of Fe-Cu nanoparticles using EEW in a suitable solution. The powder shape, size distribution, and alloying state are analyzed and discussed according to the conditions of the EEW.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.13 no.3 s.56
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• pp.187-191
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• 2006

Al-Cu alloy nano powders were produced by the electrical explosion of Cu-plated Al wires. The composition and phase of the alloy could be controlled by varying the thickness of Cu deposit on Al wire. When the Cu layer was thin, Al solid solution and $CuAl_2$ were the major phases. As the Cu layer becomes thicker, Al diminished while $Al_4Cu_9$ phase prevailed instead. The average particle size of Al-Cu nano powders became slightly smaller from 63 nm to 44 nm as Cu layer becomes thicker. The oxygen content of Al-Cu powder decreased linearly with Cu content. It is well demonstrated that the electrodeposition combined with wire explosion could be simple and economical means to prepare variety of alloy and intermetallic nano powders.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.213-220
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• 2016

In this study, bulk nickel-carbon nanotube (CNT) nanocomposites are synthesized by a novel method which includes a combination of ultrasonication, electrical explosion of wire in liquid and spark plasma sintering. The mechanical characteristics of the bulk Ni-CNT composites synthesized with CNT contents of 0.7, 1, 3 and 5 wt.% are investigated. X-ray diffraction, optical microscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy techniques are used to observe the different phases, morphologies and structures of the composite powders as well as the sintered samples. The obtained results reveal that the as-synthesized composite exhibits substantial enhancement in the microhardness and values more than 140 HV are observed. However an empirical reinforcement limit of 3 wt.% is determined for the CNT content, beyond which, there is no significant improvement in the mechanical properties.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.447-453
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• 2014

Effect of oxygen content in the ultrafine tungsten powder fabricated by electrical explosion of wire method on the behvior of spark plasma sintering was investigated. The initial oxygen content of 6.5 wt% of as-fabricated tungsten powder was reduced to 2.3 and 0.7 wt% for the powders which were reduction-treated at $400^{\circ}C$ for 2 hour and at $500^{\circ}C$ for 1h in hydrogen atmosphere, respectively. The reduction-treated tungsten powders were spark-plasma sintered at $1200-1600^{\circ}C$ for 100-3600 sec. with applied pressure of 50 MPa under vacuum of 0.133 Pa. Maximun sindered density of 97% relative density was obtained under the condition of $1600^{\circ}C$ for 1h from the tungsten powder with 0.7 wt% oxygen. Sintering activation energy of $95.85kJ/mol^{-1}$ was obtained, which is remarkably smaller than the reported ones of $380{\sim}460kJ/mol^{-1}$ for pressureless sintering of micron-scale tungsten powders.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.151-156
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• 2003

In the present work some properties of nanopowders and possible areas of their applications are discussed. Main attention is paid to the use of nanodispersed powders (NDP) in new materials production technologies.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.217-222
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• 2009

This paper presents a novel single-step method to prepare the Ag nanometallic particle dispersed fluid (nanofluid) by electrical explosion of wire in liquid, deionized water (DI water). X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) were used to investigate the characteristics of the Ag nanofluids. Zeta potential was also used to measure the dispersion properties of the as-prepared Ag nanofluid. Pure Ag phase was detected in the nanofluids using water. FE-SEM analysis shows that the size of the particles formed in DI water was about 88 nm and Zeta potential value was about -43.68 without any physical and chemical treatments. Thermal conductivity of the as-prepared Ag particle dispersed nanofluid shows much higher value than that of pure DI water.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.317-324
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• 2016

Tin is one of the most promising anode materials for next-generation lithium-ion batteries with a high energy density. However, the commercialization of tin-based anodes is still hindered due to the large volume change (over 260%) upon lithiation/delithiation cycling. To solve the problem, many efforts have been focused on enhancing structural stability of tin particles in electrodes. In this work, we synthesize tin nano-powders with an amorphous carbon layer on the surface and surroundings of the powder by electrical wire explosion in alcohol-based liquid media at room temperature. The morphology and microstructures of the powders are characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The electrochemical properties of the powder for use as an anode material for lithium-ion battery are evaluated by cyclic voltammetry and a galvanometric discharge-charge method. It is shown that the carbon-coated tin nano-powders prepared in hexanol media exhibit a high initial charge specific capacity of 902 mAh/g and a high capacity retention of 89% after 50 cycles.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.308-314
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• 2017

$Fe_3O_4$/Fe/graphene nanocomposite powder is synthesized by electrical wire explosion of Fe wire and dispersed graphene in deionized water at room temperature. The structural and electrochemical characteristics of the powder are characterized by the field-emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, field-emission transmission electron microscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and galvanometric discharge-charge method. For comparison, $Fe_3O_4$/Fe nanocomposites are fabricated under the same conditions. The $Fe_3O_4$/Fe nanocomposite particles, around 15-30 nm in size, are highly encapsulated in a graphene matrix. The $Fe_3O_4$/Fe/graphene nanocomposite powder exhibits a high initial charge specific capacity of 878 mA/g and a high capacity retention of 91% (798 mA/g) after 50 cycles. The good electrochemical performance of the $Fe_3O_4$/Fe/graphene nanocomposite powder is clearly established by comparison of the results with those obtained for $Fe_3O_4$/Fe nanocomposite powder and is attributed to alleviation of volume change, good distribution of electrode active materials, and improved electrical conductivity upon the addition of graphene.