Synthesis of nanosize powders by pulsed wire discharge

The authors have carried out demonstration experiments of nanosize powder synthesis by pulsed wire discharge. The experimental results have showed that the species of the powders produced by wire discharge are not only those of the wires but also many kinds of ceramic compounds of the wire material. In the initial experiments, they have demonstrated powder synthesis of metals (Al, Fe, Cu, Mo, and Pb), metal oxides (Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/, TiO/sub 2/, Fe/sub 2/O/sub 3/, NiO, ZrO/sub 2/, SnO/sub 2/, and PbO), and metal nitrides (TiN, ZrN, Ta/sub 2/N). Results of surface area measurements have shown that the average particle sizes of these powders are on the order of several tens of nm.