Exothermic Self-Sustained Waves with Amorphous Nickel

Abstract

The synthesis of amorphous Ni (a-Ni) using a liquid-phase chemical reduction approach is reported. Detailed structural analysis indicates that this method allows for efficient fabrication of high surface area (210 m2/g) amorphous Ni nanopowder with low impurity content. We investigated the self-propagating exothermic waves associated with crystallization of Ni from the amorphous precursor. Time-resolved X-ray diffraction indicates that amorphous nickel crystallizes in the temperature range 445–480 K. High-speed infrared imaging reveals that local preheating of compressed a-Ni nanopowder triggers a self-sustaining crystallization wave that propagates with velocity ∼0.3 mm/s. The maximum temperature of crystallization wave depends on the sample density and can be as high as 600 K. The Kissinger approach is used to determine the apparent activation energy (55.4 ± 4 kJ/mol) of crystallization. The self-diffusion activation energy of Ni atoms in a-Ni is ∼60 kJ/mol, determined through molecular dynamics (MD) si...