Synthesis of nano-aggregated nickel particles by a chemical process

Abstract

The focus of this study is in the synthesis of nanoalloy/composites and powders for industrial gas turbines applications. Nanosized nickel particles have been prepared by a simple polymer–surfactant interaction of a cationic polymer polyvinylpyrrolidone with an anionic surfactant, sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS). These particles were synthesised using nickel chloride as the precursor and hydrazine as the reducing agent in the presence of SDS in a strong basic medium. Our research shows that the rate of reduction increases as the reaction temperature was increased from 60 to 100°C. Finer particles of diameters <10 nm were formed as the temperature was increased from 60 to 100°C. The concentration of nickel chloride was kept constant in all these experiments. The nanosized nickel particles synthesised were characterised using SEM and HR TEM. The combination of SDS/polyvinylpirrolidone reaction produced nanosized nickel particles, which were much finer than the reactions where SDS was used on its own.