A New Way to Prepare Nanocrystalline Dinickel Phosphide

Nanocrystalline Ni2P was successfully prepared through the reaction between anhydrous NiCl2 and Na3P via the solvent–thermal method at 150°C. This method is similar to the well known hydrothermal process, except toluene is substituted for water. X-ray diffraction analysis indicated that the product was Ni2P phase, and no Ni–O vibrations were found in infrared spectra. Transmission electron microscopy showed that the average particle size was about 10 nm, and the particle-size distribution was narrow.