| Abstract Scope |
Aluminothermic reduction of metal oxides commonly known as the thermite process has remained unchanged since its inception in 1893. This reduction process is highly exothermic and has an activation temperature above the melting point of Al at around 660⁰C, with the reactants reaching up to 2000⁰C. We present a variant of the thermite process capable of reducing metal oxides at low temperatures in the range 50⁰C to 600⁰C. Results will be presented for reduction of ZnO, CuO, SnO2, Sb2O5, Fe2O3, NiO, V2O3, Ta2O5 and WO3 with yields up to more than 99%. For most of those oxides, the by-products can be separated from the metal powder products by washing in water. This novel reaction route enables a new simple pathway for reducing metal oxides through solid-solid reactions, directly leading to metal and metal alloy powders and allowing to conserve morphological features from the starting precursors. |