Volume 32,No. 5, October 2009, PP 471-479

Effect of external energy on atomic, crystalline and powder characteristics of antimony and bismuth powders

VIKRAM V DABHADE*, RAMA MOHAN R TALLAPRAGADA† and MAHENDRA KUMAR TRIVEDI††

Abstract
The present investigation deals with the effects of a non contact external energy on the powders of antimony and bismuth. Since metal powders are the finest forms of metal in use and can be obtained in high purity these were chosen for the present investigation. The set of powders which were treated with the external energy were designated as treated while those which were untreated as control. Both the treated as well as control powder samples were characterized by techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Laser particle size analysis, Surface area determination (BET), thermal analytical techniques such as DTA- DTG, DSC- TGA and SDTA, and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The treated powder samples exhibited remarkable changes in the powder characteristics at all structural levels starting from polycrystalline particles, through single crystal to atoms.

Conclusions

1. The non contact external energy caused a change in the particle size, surface area and crystallite size of the antimony and bismuth metal powders.
2. The treated powders of antimony and bismuth exhibited an increase as well as a decrease in volume of unit cell, effective nuclear charge per unit volume of the atom and the atomic weight.
3. SEM examination of the treated powders exhibited a change in particle morphology and particle / agglomerate size.
4. Thermal analysis of the treated powders showed a decrease in latent heat of fusion there by indicating the treated powders to be in a high energy state.

Manuscript link: http://www.ias.ac.in/matersci/index.html ( October 2009)

Publisher Springer India, in co-publication with Indian Academy of Sciences

SpringerLink: http://www.springerlink.com/openurl.asp?genre=article&id=doi:10.1007/s12034-009-0070-4