Studies on Carbothermal Reduction Nitridation of Alumina in Extended Arc Thermal Plasma

摘要

In this paper, carbothermal reduction and nitridation of alumina in an extended arc thermal plasma reactor operating in transferred arc mode is reported. The formation of hexagonal A1N (average particle size ～5 to 7 μm) has been observed in 5 min of processing time. The reaction is completed around 25 min of processing time. The reaction mechanism at high temperature has been predicted based on the chemical equilibrium diagram. The phase analysis, morphology, and optical studies of plasma synthesized A1N powder are carried out by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and Raman spectroscopy, respectively. The compositional analysis is carried out by electron probe micro-analyzer (EPMA) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX).