Solution combustion synthesis and Monte Carlo simulation of the formation of CuNi integrated nanoparticles

Abstract The fine bimetallic Cu-Ni integrated nanoparticles were obtained by the modified solution combustion synthesis in the air using glycine as a fuel. The synthesized nanoparticles were studied by XRD analysis using single- and two-phase approaches for Rietveld refinement simulation, by scanning TEM–EDX spectroscopy and HR TEM technics. The data analysis for nanoparticles' characteristics showed close integration of Cu and Ni crystalline structures, which tend to form a bimetallic alloy. The process of bimetallic nanoparticles’ formation was computer simulated using the Monte Carlo method in the temperature range from 300 to 600 K. The simulation established the patterns of neck formation for two cases of the initial arrangement of copper and nickel nanoparticles: direct contact and relative displacement of 0.2 nm. It was established, that in the case of relative displacement in comparison with the case of the direct contact the coalescence process is «delayed» by 60–80 K upon heating. A description of the energy spectra of two particles during the neck forming has been provided.