Fabrication of porous nickel-copper alloy with controlled micro-sized pore structure through the Kirkendall effect

To solve the mirofiltration problem in harsh environments, the porous Nickel-Copper (Ni-Cu) alloy is fabricated by powder metallurgy. Homogenous skeleton and abundant interconnected pores microstructure are found in the as-sintered porous Ni-Cu alloy. Meanwhile, it maintains an adequate mechanical strength under high temperature up to 900 °C. Corrosion kinetics indicates that the corrosion resistance of porous Ni-Cu is superior than porous nickel in the same concentration of hydrofluoric acid. Compared with conventional phosphorus slag purification practices, the described porous Ni-Cu filters enable the superior-yield of phosphorus effectively and have the potential to decrease the energy consumption and simultaneously ensure an environmental friendly process in phosphorus industry.