Synthesis of nanocrystalline (Co,Ni)Al2O4 spinel powder by mechanical milling of quasicrystalline material

Abstract

The (Co,Ni)Al2O4 is an aluminum transition metals oxide which falls into the category of aluminate spinels. The synthesis of nano-crystalline spinels has been investigated extensively due to their potential applications such as a high-density magnetic recording, microwave devices magnetic fluids, ceramic pigment as well as a heterogeneous catalytic material. In the present study, attempts have been made to synthesise the nano-crystalline (Co,Ni)Al2O4 spinel powders by ball milling and subsequent annealing. An alloy of Al70 Ni15 Co15, exhibiting the formation of a complex intermetallic compound known as decagonal quasicrystals in the as-solidified condition, is selected as the starting material for mechanical milling. It is interesting to note that this alloy is close to the stoichiometry of aluminum and transition metal atoms required to form of the aluminate spinel. The milling was carried out in an attritor mill at 400 rpm for 40 hours with ball to powder ratio of 20:1 in hexane medium and the annealing was performed for 10, 20 and 40 h at 600 0 C in air in side the furnace in order to oxidize the decagonal phase and finally to form the spinel structures. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirmed the formation of nano-sized decagonal phase after milling and then (Co,Ni)Al2O4 spinel type structure from the nano-size decagonal phase during annealing. The average crystallite size has been found to be ~40 nm by XRD and TEM studies, the lattice strain is 0.6 %, and the lattice parameter is 8.0756 A . The ferromagnetic behaviour is also observed in the milled and the annealed samples.