Facile and scalable synthesis of Ti5Si3 nanoparticles in molten salts for metal-matrix nanocomposites†
Abstract
We report a novel synthesis of Ti5Si3 nanoparticles (NPs) via the magnesio-reduction of TiO2 NPs and SiO2 in eutectic LiCl–KCl molten salts at 700 °C. The Ti5Si3 particle size (∼25 nm) is confined to the nanoscale due to the partial dissolution of Mg and silica in the molten salts and a subsequent heterogeneous reduction on the surface of the TiO2 NPs.