This is frequently done with noble metal catalysts. They are mixed with a thin oxide "wash coat" and applied either to a metal or a ceramic base. The Ni is tougher to keep from sintering. You want the nano-Ni exposed, but the nano-features melt at about 600C and will begin sintering at 300C.
One of the ways that nano materials are fabricated is by successive oxidation and reduction. The oxidation causes the material to grow (think how a rusty nail grows as it oxidizes). Then when reduced you are left with an elemental metal skeleton having features smaller than you began with. My process uses this technique to expose nano features after partial sintering by oxidation/reduction with a final step of reduction. I start with larger particles, add nano-Fe2O3, and then go through stages of thermal oxidation and reduction. Bob Higgins On Mon, Oct 6, 2014 at 4:01 PM, <[email protected]> wrote: > In reply to Bob Higgins's message of Mon, 6 Oct 2014 09:09:07 -0600: > Hi, > [snip] > >I use carbonyl Ni, the same as Rossi and Defkalion. Rossi adds his own > >treatment which he claims is cheap. Neither use nano-Ni. Will my > >treatment of this Ni work? Only time will tell. Results with the QSI > >nano-Ni have been disappointing. Also, nano-Ni is not durable - I.E, it > >will easily sinter into larger particles at high temperature (600C). If > >nano-Ni was found to be required, it will be painful to make something > work > >at high temperature for long periods. Nano-Ni might be OK for hand > warmers. > > Maybe it can be mixed with another powder to stop it sintering, by keeping > the > particles separate? > Regards, > > Robin van Spaandonk > > http://rvanspaa.freehostia.com/project.html > >
