METHOD FOR PRODUCING METAL POWDER AND METAL POWDER PRODUCED BY THE METHOD

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for reproducibly producing a spherical metal powder having a mean diameter in a region of a submicron order and a micron order, so as to have such a narrow particle size distribution that σW/W which is a ratio of the standard deviation σWto a target weight W (metal quantity) of the metal powder is in the range satisfying σW/W≤1/2. SOLUTION: In a process of dripping and dropping down a dispersion liquid in which metal nanoparticles are dispersed in an organic solvent, in a form of droplets with a predetermined liquid amount, the method for producing the metal powder with a uniform size includes: making the organic solvent contained in the fine droplets of the dispersion liquid of the metal nanoparticles, which are dripped, evaporate to form particles made of an aggregate of the metal nanoparticles; bumping the particles made of the aggregate of the metal nanoparticles; and further heat-treating the particles made of the aggregate of the metal nanoparticles to progress a sintering reaction among the metal nanoparticles. COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT