In order to prevent the oxide formation on the surface of nano-size iron particles and thereby to improve the oxidation resistance, iron nanoparticles synthesized by a chemical vapor condensation method were directly soaked in hexadecanethiol solution to coat them with a polymer layer. Oxygen content in the polymer-coated iron nanoparticles was significantly lower than that in air-passivated particles possessing iron-core/oxide-shell structure. Accordingly, oxidation resistance of the polymer-coated particles at an elevated temperature below in air was times higher than that of the air- passivated particles.

Aluminum matrix composites strengthened by the quasi-crystalline (QC) phase were developed in the present study. The icosahedral phase was produced by gravity casting and subsequent heat treatment. The mechanical milling process was utilized in order to produce the Al/QC composite powders. The microstructures of the composite powders were examined by optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The composite powders were subsequently canned, degassed and extruded in order to produce the bulk composite extrusions with various volume fractions of QC. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the extrusions were examined by OM, SEM, Vickers hardness tests and compression tests. It was found that the microstructures of the Al/QC composites were uniform and the mechanical properties could be significantly improved by the addition of the QC phase.

Ultrafine copper powder was prepared from slurry with hydrazine, a reductant, under . The influence of various reaction parameters such as temperature, reaction time, molar ratio of , PvP and NaOH to Cu in aqueous solution had been studied on the morphology and powder phase of Cu powders obtained. The production ratio of Cu from CuO was increased with the ratio of and the temperature. When the ratio of was higher than 2.5 and the temperature was higher than , CuO was completely reduced into Cu within 40 min. The crystalline size of Cu obtained became fine as the temperature increase, whereas the aggregation degree of particles was increased with the reaction time. The morphology of Cu powder depended on that of the precursor of CuO and processing conditions. The average particle size was about

This paper deals with the fabrication of titanium carbide using fine titanium hydride. The ratio of and C (Activated carbon) was 1:1 (mol) and milled in a planetary ball mill at a ball-to-powder weight ratio of 20:1. Thereafter, TGA was performed at to observe change of weight with milling time. Titanium carbide was obtained by using tempering the milled powders at . The microstructures of titanium carbide as well as the change of the lattice parameters and particle size have been studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).