Sunil Pathak, post-doc in the LSP group of the HiLASE Centre, has co-authored a recent article on the topic of facile manufacture of oxide-free Cu particles coated with oleic acid by electrical discharge machining, published in the Micromachines scientific journal.
The study was produced in collaboration with Irshad Ahamad Khilji, Siti Nadiah Binti Mohd Safee, Chaitanya Reddy Chilakamarry, Amiril Sahab Bin Abdul Sani and Venugopal Jayarama Reddy, all from Universiti Malaysia Pahang.
Particle synthesis has seen significant advances in current trends. However, the synthesis of metal particles without oxidation is a challenge for researchers. The current study presents a straightforward, convenient, and convincing approach for manufacturing copper (Cu) particles free of surface oxide. The die-sink Electrical Discharge Machine (EDM) of copper alloys with oleic acid resulted in the formation of Cu particles with diameters between 10 to 20 µm. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used for particle examination after cleaning and sonication with distilled water. Cu particles with oleic acid coating retained a Cu phase without oxidation after synthesis. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to determine the size and morphology of generated particles. Fourier transforms infrared (FT-IR) analysis revealed the oleic acid-coated Cu surface bonded with an oxygen atom. Also, the agglomeration and change of size involving Cu particles with increasing voltages in the pulse supply in EDM were reported.
Read the full article HERE.
