Preparation and growth of Ni–Cu alloy nanoparticles prepared by arc plasma evaporation

Nano-scale alloy powders, with the average particle size of 50 nm and face-centered cubic structure, were prepared from Ni x Cu 1 − x (20% < x < 80 at.%) bulk alloys by arc plasma evaporation. Because of the difference in evaporation rates for both nickel and copper in the alloy melt, the composition of the prepared powders is found to be different from that of raw bulk alloys in most of the cases. Thus the composition relationship between the powders and raw alloys are constructed in the present work. In order to control the size distribution of the powders, the aggregation and growth process of the nanoparticles are analyzed.