I have done the milling process for an Alumina sample using zirconia ball. However from EDX and XRD analysis it is showing very high contamination of Zirconia element. Does anyone have suggestions on how to remove/separate zirconia element from the milled sample?
It may be difficult and costly process to remove the contamination from the samples. Agate mortar can be used to obtain the high purity samples for XRD analysis. Although the hardness of agate (approximately 7 on Mohs hardness scale) is less than Zirconia (8), due to stickiness agate can work well with almost all kind of materials. I used agate mortar to get the alumina powder and obtained the XRD without any peak related to impurity from agate.
Unfortunately agate mortar can't produce nanosize particle.. Smallest size maybe in micron only..
When performing high-energy ball-milling to synthesize nano-materials, contamination with traces from the materials the balls and vials are made of is virtually unavoidable. You need to choose materials for balls AND vials that are compatible with the nano-material you intend to synthesize and furthermore provide the required hardness for the milling process.
From this paper: A study in the mechanical milling of alumina powder.. report that the Zirconia ball is the best.. Using alumina show high decreasing of the grinding material.. contamination seems unavoidable but how to separate the sample is still a question..
Synthesis of nanoparticles may be difficult by simple hand-grinding in agate mortar. However, nanoparticles of Fullerene C60 was synthesized upto size of 20 nm by simply using hand-grinding of the solids in agate mortar (See doi: 10.1021/jp909331n).
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Physical Sciences
- Materials Science