Production of nanopowders by wire explosion in liquid media

The technology of wire explosion has been used to produce nanopowders. A new concept was proposed to produce nanosized powder, which is wire explosion in liquid media. We have exploded the Ag wires with 0.3-mm diameter and 25-min length, in the de-ionized water. Electrical energy of 1.1 kJ was stored in a 10-uF capacitor and released to the wires through a triggered spark gap switch. The process was observed by highspeed camera. Those images showed that the powders were generated by vapor condensation in the shell formed by the shock wave in the water. The particles were directly dispersed into the water with the collapse of the shell. The pure Ag nanopowder was produced by this method. (0 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.