Nanoalloying of clusters of immiscible metals and the formation of bimetallic nanoparticles in the conditions of non-synchronous explosion of two wires

The work researches the influence of metal mixing enthalpy on spontaneous nanoalloying of coagulated clusters formed when intertwined Fe/Ag, Ni/Ag, Nb/Cu and Pb/Cu wires with equiatomic composition are exploded. The analysis of temporal dependencies of currents and voltages has shown that the intervals between the successive explosions of Fe/Ag, Ni/Ag, Nb/Cu and Pb/Cu wires are 0.38, 0.26, 0.43 and 0.4 mu s, respectively. This explains their asynchronous destruction. It has been found that when wires are exploded, bimetallic Janus and core-shell nanoparticles are formed. The obtained data makes it possible to conclude that when wires explode nonsynchronously, clusters coagulate and atoms of metals subsequently intermix. The results of the research demonstrate that the explosion of two wires made of metals with positive mixing enthalpy (from 8 to 116 kJ/g) is a process that can be used to obtain bimetallic nanoparticles with complex structures. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.