A novel strategy for synthesis of Al powder comprising of Al nanoflakes via ultrasonication of Al foil

Mobeen Haneef; Khurram Yaqoob; M Adeel Umer; Zakir Hussain

doi:10.1016/j.ultsonch.2019.104838

A novel strategy for synthesis of Al powder comprising of Al nanoflakes via ultrasonication of Al foil

Ultrason Sonochem. 2020 Mar:61:104838. doi: 10.1016/j.ultsonch.2019.104838. Epub 2019 Oct 24.

Authors

Mobeen Haneef¹, Khurram Yaqoob², M Adeel Umer¹, Zakir Hussain¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Chemical and Materials Engineering (SCME), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Sector H-12, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan.
² School of Chemical and Materials Engineering (SCME), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Sector H-12, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan. Electronic address: Khurram.yaqoob@scme.nust.edu.pk.

PMID: 31710996
DOI: 10.1016/j.ultsonch.2019.104838

Abstract

Aluminum (Al) nanopowders have potential applications as hydrogen storage medium, energetic materials, pigments, and for production of metal matrix parts via powder metallurgy, to name a few. They are synthesized by methods which are either expensive or result in the product with impurities. A novel methodology based on ultrasonication of commercially available Al foil has been developed for synthesis of Al powders. Al foil was immersed in an organic medium and subjected to ultrasonication in a 160-watt bath ultrasonicator operated at 35 kHz frequency. Morphological, crystal structural, and dimensional characterization of ultrasonicated Al was carried out with the help of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and atomic forces microscopy (AFM) respectively. Characterization results revealed that Al foil was eroded laterally as well as axially, resulting in the formation of micro and nanosized flake-like pure Al powder.

Keywords: Aluminum; Nanosheets; Powder technology; SEM; Ultrasonic energy; XRD.