Tungsten heavy alloys (W–Ni–Fe) play an important role in various industries because of their excellent mechanical properties, such as the excellent hardness of tungsten, low thermal expansion, corrosion resistance of nickel, and ductility of iron. In tungsten heavy alloys, tungsten nanoparticles allow the relatively low-temperature molding of high-melting-point tungsten and can improve densification. In this study, to improve the densification of tungsten heavy alloy, nanoparticles are manufactured by ultrasonic milling of metal oxide. The physical properties of the metal oxide and the solvent viscosity are selected as the main parameters. When the density is low and the Mohs hardness is high, the particle size distribution is relatively high. When the density is high and the Mohs hardness is low, the particle size distribution is relatively low. Additionally, the average particle size tends to decrease with increasing viscosity. Metal oxides prepared by ultrasonic milling in high-viscosity solvent show an average particle size of less than 300 nm based on the dynamic light scattering and scanning electron microscopy analysis. The effects of the physical properties of the metal oxide and the solvent viscosity on the pulverization are analyzed experimentally.

Bi2Te3 powders are recovered by wet chemical reduction for waste n-type thermoelectric chips, and the recovered particles with different morphologies are prepared using various surfactants such as cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (SDBS), and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). When citric acid is added as the surfactant, the shape of the aggregated particles shows no distinctive features. On the other hand, rod-shaped particles are formed in the sample with CTAB, and sheet-like particles are synthesized with the addition of SDBS. Further, particles with a tripod shape are observed when EDTA is added as the surfactant. The growth mechanism of the particle shapes depending on the surfactant is investigated, with a focus on the nucleation and growth phenomena. These results help to elucidate the intrinsic formation mechanism of the rod, plate, and tripod structures of the Bi2Te3 recovered by the wet reduction process.