Bi-metallic Nanoparticle Synthesis for Advanced Manufactured Melt Wires

Technical Report · Fri Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 2022

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1880069· OSTI ID:1880069

Der Garabedian, Nicholas Alexander ^[1]; Fujimoto, Kiyo T. ^[2]; Orme, Kennalee ^[2]

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1. Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Villanova Univ., PA (United States)
2. Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) Program Report: Additive manufacturing (AM) based on direct-write technologies has emerged as the predominant method for the fabrication of passive sensors for the harsh operating environments seen in a nuclear reactor. Through the modification of previous methods, Idaho National Laboratory and Villanova University have improved the synthesis process for AM feedstock, which will allow for the improvement of advanced nuclear sensors and instrumentation. A major part of this work includes the synthesis process of relevant AM compatible feedstock to support the development, fabrication, and testing of AM sensors for peak temperature detection. For this report, bismuth, bismuth/platinum, tin, tin/silver, tin/zinc, indium, and indium/silver bi-metallic nanoparticles were synthesized using the polyol method, which will enhance temperature sensitivity and allow for miniaturization. To characterize the synthesized nanoparticles, we used x-ray fluorescence to evaluate the elemental composition of the nanoparticles and differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis to determine the melting point and mass loss of the samples. Results show that bi-metallic nanoparticles are a viable option for the fabrication of high-resolution AM melt wires. The temperature sensitivity can be brought to within 5°C and melt wires can be fabricated that are in the micrometer scale. This will expand the range of irradiation experiments melt wires can be used for and the measured temperature will be significantly more accurate.

• Research Organization: Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE), Nuclear Energy Enabling Technologies (NEET)
• DOE Contract Number: AC07-05ID14517
• OSTI ID: 1880069
• Report Number(s): INL/RPT-22-68098-Rev000
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY
additive manufacturing
bi-metallic
characterization
differential scanning calorimetry
melt wire
nanoparticles
peak temperature
phase diagram
purification
synthesis
thermogravimetric analysis
x-ray fluorescence