Preparation of Nb3Al powder by chemical reaction in molten salts

Nb 3 Al nanoparticles were directly synthesized by metallothermic reduction process in the molten salts with m NbCl 5 – n AlCl 3 powders as raw materials and sodium as reducing reagent. The effects of different feeding material orders, soaking time, Nb content in raw materials, and 3NbCl 5 –AlCl 3 content in molten salts on the obtained Nb 3 Al powder were discussed. The as-prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It is found that the only phase Nb 3 Al nanoparticles are obtained by controlling the variation of the feeding material orders, soaking time, and Nb content in raw materials. And the morphologies of as-prepared nanoparticles change owning to different 3NbCl 5 –AlCl 3 contents in molten salts.