Production of cobalt and nickel particles by hydrogen reduction

Cobalt and nickel nanoparticles were produced by hydrogen reduction reaction from cobalt or nickel chloride precursor vapour in nitrogen carrier gas. This aerosol phase method to produce nanoparticles is a scalable one-step process. Two different setups were introduced in particle production: a batch type reactor and a continuously operated reactor. Common feature in these setups was hydrogen mixing in a vertical flow reactor. The process was monitored on-line for particle mass concentration and for gas phase chemical reactions. Tapered element oscillating microbalance measured the particle mass concentration and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to monitor relevant gas phase species. The produced cobalt and nickel particles were characterised using transmission electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction. The produced cobalt and nickel particles were crystalline with cubic fcc structure. Twinning was often observed in cobalt particles while nickel particles were mostly single crystals. The cobalt particles formed typically long agglomerates. No significant neck growth between the primary particles was observed. The primary particle size for cobalt and nickel was below 100 nm.