This study investigated the effect of solvent on the fabrication of Ni-free Fe-based alloy nano powders by employing the PWE (pulsed wire evaporation) in liquid and compared the alloy particles fabricated by three different methods (PWE in liquid, PWE in Ar, plasma arc discharge), for high temperature oxidation-resistant metallic porous body for high temperature soot filter system. Three different solvents (ethanol, acetone, distilled water) of liquid were adapted in PWE in liquid process, while X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning microscope (FE-SEM), and transmission electron microscope (TEM) were used to investigate the characteristics of the Fe-Cr-Al nano powders. The alloy powder synthesized by PWE in ethanol has good particle size and no surface oxidation compared to that of distilled water. Since the Fe-based alloy powders, which were fabricated by PWE in Ar and PAD process, showed surface oxidation by TEM analysis, the PWE in ethanol is the best way to fabricate Fe-based alloy nano powder.

This study investigated the effect of wire diameter and applied voltage on the fabrication of Ni-free Fe-based alloy nano powders by employing the PWE (pulsed wire evaporation) in liquid, for high temperature oxidation-resistant metallic porous body for high temperature particulate matter (or soot) filter system. Three different diameter (0.1, 0.2, and 0.3 mm) of alloy wire and various applied voltages from 0.5 to 3.0 kV were main variables in PWE process, while X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning microscope (FE-SEM), and transmission electron microscope (TEM) were used to investigate the characteristics of the Fe-Cr-Al nano powders. It was controlled the number of explosion events, since evaporated and condensed nano-particles were coalesced to micron-sized secondary particles, when exceeded to the specific number of explosion events, which were not suitable for metallic porous body preparation. As the diameter of alloy wire increased, the voltage for electrical explosion increased and the size of primary particle decreased.