Preparation of iron nanosized powder by pulsed wire discharge

Abstract

Organic matter coated Fe nanosized powders were prepared by pulsed wire discharge. X-ray diffraction showed no crystalline phases except for α-Fe. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and infrared absorption spectroscopy results indicated that the prepared particles were coated by mineral oil. From the TEM results, the particle size distributions were also obtained and the geometric mean diameters were calculated to be from 20.2 to 42.4 nm. The relation between the geometric mean diameter and theoretical plasma/vapor density was close to that predicted by the known particle size determining equation. Saturation magnetization as high as 172 emu g−1 was obtained for the prepared Fe nanosized powder.