MECHANOCHEMICAL REDUCTION OF MoO3 POWDER BY Al AND Si TO SYNTHESIZE NANOCRYSTALLINE MoSi2

Abstract

In this study, mechanical alloying was used to produce MoSi 2 powder directly from molybdenum trioxide. Mixture of MoO 3, Si and Al powders were exposed to high mechanical activation in a planetary ball mill. The ball to powder mass ratio was constant at 33:1 and the rotation speed (cup speed) was 290 rpm during the milling operations. Phase compositions and structural evolutions during milling were investigated by X-ray diffraction analysis. The morphology of the mechanically alloyed powders was evaluated with scanning electron microscope (SEM). From XRD results, it was observed that within 3 hours of milling, MoO 3 was completely reduced and a MoSi 2- Al 2 O 3 composite powder was produced. Further milling resulted in transformation of β- MoSi 2 phase to α- MoSi 2. Mean crystallite sizes in product phases in the sample milled for 30 hours calculated by Scherer method using XRD patterns were found to be less than 100 nm.