Preparation and characteristics of Fe3Al nanoparticles by hydrogen plasma-metal reaction

Fe3Al nanoparticles have been prepared with Al-Fe master alloy containing 15 at.% Al by hydrogen plasma-metal reaction. The morphology, crystal structure and chemical composition of the as prepared nanoparticles were investigated by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and induction-coupled plasma spectroscopy. The nanoparticles were spherical in shape, with the mean particle diameter of 38nm. They had better oxidation resistance at room temperature than pure iron nanoparticles with similar average particle size. Due to the high cooling rate, less than 5 wt.% alpha-Fe was found in the nanoparticles. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.