Nickel dot coating of NbC powder by solution processing

A fast, low cost solution route to nickel dot coated NbC powder using Ni(NO3)26H2O, Ni(OAc)24H2O and triethanolamine (TEA) as precursors in methanol solvent was developed. After mixing the precursor solution with 50–300 ​nm sized NbC powder and evaporation of the solvent, heating to 150 ​°C, or higher, yielded NbC powder evenly covered with well-dispersed nickel metal dots, 6–25 ​nm in size, depending on the nickel loading and temperature. Coatings yielding 4 to 14 ​wt% nickel loading were studied at temperatures from 200 to 700 ​°C, using TG-DTA, XRD, SEM, XPS with Ar+-ion etching, TEM/DF, and STEM/HAADF/EDS.