The formation of ultrafine spherical metal powders using a low wettability strategy of solid–liquid interface

Here, we present a liquid–solid method (termed “LS method”) for the formation of spherical metal powders. By taking advantage of the low wettability of metal liquids on a solid powder, spherical metal droplets were formed under the influence of interfacial and surface tension, as demonstrated for copper, silver , aluminum , copper–tin alloy, copper–zinc alloy, and amorphous magnetic iron–silicon–boron materials. This LS method is a versatile and universal route and would be applied in powder metallurgy , 3D printing and metal injection modeling. We believe this method provide an additional way for the formation of spherical metal powders.