Synthesis of boron carbide nanoparticles via spray pyrolysis

A continuous process was developed to synthesize submicron boron carbide particles from boric acid and sucrose-based precursor solutions using a home-made spray pyrolysis system. A control set of samples was also prepared for comparison purposes of the microstructure and morphology of the ones synthesized via the spray pyrolysis method. Moreover, nickel nitrate was used in a precursor solution to investigate its catalyst effects on the reaction kinetics of boron carbide formation. The boron carbide phase was observed in the particles synthesized with spray pyrolysis at a reactor temperature of 1550 °C. The average particle size was approximately 0.46 μm. No effect of nickel additions was observed as a catalyst in boron carbide formation. Computational fluid dynamics software was used to model and simulate the experimental system. Simulation results provided information about the residence time and the temperature distribution along the tube reactor.