Synthesis of nanoparticles of Cu, Sb, Sn, SnSb and Cu2Sb by densification and atomization process

Here we present a technique based on an initial densification of solid precursor materials using magnetic pulses followed by an atomization process via spark discharging. These two processes allow changing bulky micron sized materials into nanoparticles (5-60 nm). The resulting intermediates and nanomaterials have been characterized using electron microscopy (TEM, SEM) and X-ray diffraction to show the texture and structure evolution between the initial bulk phase and the final nanoparticles. In this paper we present the nanoparticle formation of certain metals (Cu, Sn, Sb), alloys and intermetallics (SnSb, Cu2Sb) starting with pure elemental powders.