Nanocrystalline Ni3Al-type intermetallic phase powder from Ni-base superalloys

Nanoscale particles of Ni 3 Al-type intermetallic phase have been produced by extracting precipitates from Ni-base superalloys. The process is flexible and can be easily manipulated to tailor particle size and composition. Further, it can be readily adopted to produce nanoparticles of many other intermetallic phases with diverse compositions. The Ni 3 Al-type nanopowder ( nm particle size) was characterized by x-ray diffraction and electron microscopy and compared with a micropowder ( nm particle size). The nanopowder shows enhanced specific magnetization and a slight increase in Curie temperature relative to the micropowder. This change is possibly due to small changes in composition rather than to the reduction in particle size.