A New Approach to the Synthesis of Transition Metal Phosphide Nanocrystallites (MoP, MoP2, Cu3P and CuP2) by using Reaction under Autogenic Pressure at Elevated Temperatures (RAPET) Technique

The reaction under autogenic pressure at elevated temperature (RAPET) technique is proposed for synthesizing a series of metal phosphide nanoparticles such as MoP, MoP2, Cu3P and CuP2 at 850∘C for 3.50h by reacting selectively the transition metal powders with elemental phosphorus. The obtained products are characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). A reaction mechanism is suggested based on the experimental results.