Carbonyl nickel refining was first commercialised in 1902 by the Mond Nickel Company Ltd, with carbonyl iron powder production being developed in 1925 by Germany’s BASF (formerly I G Farben). Today, carbonyl nickel powders are widely used in Powder Metallurgy, battery and fuel cell electrodes, hardmetal binders, welding rods, high-temperature filters, conducting additives, electronic materials, anti-seize lubricants, chemicals and catalysts. Typical applications of carbonyl iron powders include Metal Injection Moulding (MIM), magnetic cores, hardmetal binders, radar absorption materials, magneto-rheological fluids for shock/vibration damping, precision polishing, industrial diamond synthesis and health supplements.
Carbonyl nickel powders with an apparent density lower than 1.0 g/cm3 are referred to as light nickel powders, often in the form of filamentary morphology (threedimensional chain of fine particles fused together), while carbonyl nickel powders with an apparent density over 1.0 g/cm3 are referred to as heavy nickel powders, often in the form of discrete particle shapes.
A list of primary applications for filamentary and discrete carbonyl nickel powders is as follows:
Filamentary carbonyl nickel powders (light nickel powders):
- Sintered electrodes for batteries and fuel cells
- Hard metal binders
- Powder Metallurgy
- Sintered filters
- Conducting additives for electronic applications
Discrete carbonyl nickel powders (heavy nickel powders):
- Powder Metallurgy
- Hard metal binders
- Welding rods
- High purity nickel strips
- Industrial diamond synthesis
- Anti-seize lubricant
- Electronic materials
- Chemicals and catalysts
The table below gives a comparison of typical physical and chemical properties of commercially available carbonyl nickel powders [2, 3, 4]. For general descriptions of carbonyl nickel powder properties, refer to reference [2]. Due to their high purity and well-defined microstructures, carbonyl nickel powders have found growing industrial applications
Read the full article, The Changing Landscape of Carbonyl Iron and Nickel Powder Production, here.
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Reference
[1 ]Inovar Corporations Ltd. “The Changing Landscape of Carbonyl Iron and Nickel Powder Production.” Powder Metallurgy Review, 2017, pp. 43–45.
[2] Z. Yang, F. Wang, L. Koehler and J. Shu, “Advancements in Chinese Carbonyl Nickel Powder Production”, Proceedings of PowderMet 2016, 76-87, June 5-8, 2016, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Also see Powder Injection Molding International, 10(3) 107-110, 2016
[3] L. Koehler, “Consultants Corner”, Intl. J. Powder Metallurgy, 51 (1) 9-10 (2015).
[4] L. Koehler, “Powder Metallurgy Nickel and Nickel Alloys, in “ASM Handbook, Volume 7: Powder Metallurgy”, ASM International, 673-681, 2015
Original Authors: Jun Shu and Lou Koehler