Microstructural characterization of Ni nanoparticles prepared by anodic arc plasma

The particle size, specific surface area, crystal structure and morphology of Ni nanoparticles prepared by an anodic arc discharge plasma method were characterized via X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and the corresponding selected area electron diffraction (SAED), X-ray energy dispersive spectrometry (XEDS), the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) equation, and the Barrett–Joyner–Halenda (BJH) method. The experimental results indicate that the crystal structure of the samples is face centered cubic (FCC) the same as that of the bulk materials, the specific surface area is 14.23 m2/g, with the particle size distribution ranging from 20 to 70 nm, the cumulative volume of the pores is 0.09 cm3/g, the average pore diameter is 23 nm, and the average particle size about 47 nm. The grain size DXRD is smaller than the particle size DTEM and DBET due to agglomeration. The nanoparticles prepared by this method achieved uniform size, low impurity contamination, narrow size distribution and spherical shape.