Nickel nanopowders are obtained by the spark discharge method, which is based on the evaporation of the electrode surface under the action of the discharge current, followed by vapor condensation and the formation of nanoparticles. Nickel electrodes with a purity of 99.99% are used to synthesize the nickel nanoparticles in the setup. Nitrogen is used as the carrier gas with a purity of 99.998%. XRD, TEM, and EDX analyses of the nanopowders are performed. Moreover, HRTEM images with measured interplanar spacings are obtained. In the nickel nanopowder samples, a phase of approximately 90 wt% with an expanded crystal lattice of 6.5% on average is found. The results indicate an unusual process of nickel nanoparticle formation when the spark discharge method is employed.

The morphology, crystal structure and size of aerosol nanoparticles generated by erosion of electrodes made of different materials (titanium, copper and aluminum) in a multi-spark discharge generator were investigated. The aerosol nanoparticle synthesis was carried out in air atmosphere at a capacitor stored energy of 6 J, a repetition rate of discharge of 0.5 Hz and a gas flow velocity of 5.4 m/s. The aerosol nanoparticles were generated in the form of oxides and had various morphologies: agglomerates of primary particles of TiO2 and Al2O3 or aggregates of primary particles of Cu2O. The average size of the primary nanoparticles ranged between 6.3 and 7.4 nm for the three substances studied. The average size of the agglomerates and aggregates varied in a wide interval from 24.6 nm for Cu2O to 46.1 nm for Al2O3.

A modern electric system located at a certain distance from the discharge may respond with unexpected sensitivity, when an electrostatic discharge (ESD) phenomenon occurs heteronomously between metallic objects. For analyzing the transient electromagnetic fields caused by ESD, two resistance formulas - Toepler and Rompe-Weizel -are introduced. The experimental result given by Wilson-Ma are used to compare which of these resistance formulas is proper.