Spherical amorphous nickel-phosphorus alloy particles with uniform size prepared at room temperature

TLDR: In this article, a new chemical method for preparing ultrafine amorphous Ni85P15 alloy particles with uniform size and spherical shape is reported, which consists of primary nucleation of NiB followed by autocatalytic deposition of the components.

Abstract: A new chemical method for preparing ultrafine amorphous Ni85P15 alloy particles with uniform size and spherical shape is reported. The particles were prepared by reduction of nickel chloride with sodium hypophosphite initiated with a drop of potassium borohydride solution at room temperature. The preparation mechanism, which consists of primary nucleation of NiB followed by autocatalytic deposition of the components, is discussed. The amorphous structure of the particles was identified by X-ray diffraction and selected area electron diffraction. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicated that nickel and phosphorus are present as an alloy. Transmission election microscopy revealed that the particles are uniform and spherical with a diameter of about 100 nm.