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Plasma synthesis of titanium nitride, carbide and carbonitride nanoparticles by means of reactive anodic arc evaporation from solid titanium

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Abstract

Plasma methods using the direct evaporation of a transition metal are well suited for the cost-efficient production of ceramic nanoparticles. In this paper, we report on the development of a simple setup for the production of titanium-ceramics by reactive anodic arc evaporation and the characterization of the aerosol as well as the nanopowder. It is the first report on TiC X N1 − X synthesis in a simple anodic arc plasma. By means of extensive variations of the gas composition, it is shown that the composition of the particles can be tuned from titanium nitride over a titanium carbonitride phase (TiC X N1 − X ) to titanium carbide as proven by XRD data. The composition of the plasma gas especially a very low concentration of hydrocarbons around 0.2 % of the total plasma gas is crucial to tune the composition and to avoid the formation of free carbon. Examination of the particles by HR-TEM shows that the material consists mostly of cubic single crystalline particles with mean sizes between 8 and 27 nm.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) in the framework of the Collaborative Research Centre on “Nanoparticles from the gas phase: formation, structure and properties” (SFB 445).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Technology for Nanostructures (NST) and Center for Nanointegration Duisburg-Essen (CENIDE), University of Duisburg-Essen, Bismarckstr. 81, 47057, Duisburg, Germany

    D. Kiesler, T. Bastuck, R. Theissmann & F. E. Kruis

  2. Federal-Mogul Burscheid GmbH, Rings & Liners, Buergermeister-Schmidt-Str. 17, 51399, Burscheid, Germany

    T. Bastuck

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  1. D. Kiesler
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Correspondence to D. Kiesler.

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Kiesler, D., Bastuck, T., Theissmann, R. et al. Plasma synthesis of titanium nitride, carbide and carbonitride nanoparticles by means of reactive anodic arc evaporation from solid titanium. J Nanopart Res 17, 152 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-015-2967-8

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