Investigation of the solid-state reaction between nickel oxide and alumina by Rutherford backscattering (RBS)

Abstract

The reaction of NiO and Al2O3 to form NiAl2O4 was investigated by means of Rutherford backscattering of 3 MeV He+-ions. The NiO was obtained by oxidation at 900°C of a nickel film vapour-deposited onto alumina substrates. The reaction of NiO and Al2O3 did not proceed markedly at 900°C. The reaction to form NiAl2O4 was found to be followed by a reaction of nickel and oxygen ions of the spinel phase with alumina to form NiAl2O4·xAl2O3. Some NiO was lost by evaporation. Careful calibration of the energy scale and determination of the integrated intensity of bombarding He+-ions appeared to be essential to get reliable interpretation of the results.