Cryo-Milled Nickel–Aluminum Nanostructured Composites: Bifurcated Ignition Mode

We report the use of high-energy cryo-milling for fabrication of reactive composite Ni/Al particles. Specifically, the CryoMill (Retsch) with liquid nitrogen was used with milling times in the range of 5 to 40 min. The microstructure of the obtained particles and their ignition characteristics were investigated. A novel bifurcated ignition mode for intermediate milling times was observed. The correlations between the microstructure of the Ni/Al particles and their reactivity were discussed.