Amorphous tungsten, cobalt, nickel, molybdenum, iron and
alloys thereof can be formed by reducing metal-containing
compositions to form the elemental metal wherein the
particle size of the elemental metal is less than about 80
microns. This is oxidized in an oxygen-starved environment
containing less than 3% oxygen and an inert gas to slowly
oxidize the elemental metal. By oxidizing the metal under
these conditions, the normal exotherm occurring during
oxidation is avoided. The slow oxidation of the metal
continues forming an amorphous metal oxide. The amorphous metal oxide can then be reacted in a reducing environment such as hydrogen to form the amorphous elemental
metal. This amorphous elemental metal can then be reacted
with a carburizing gas to form the carbide or ammonia gas
to form the oitride or hexamethylsilane to form the silicide.
This permits gas/solid reactions. The amorphous metal can
also be used in a variety of different applications.
Cyprus University of Technology
