Paper Title
EDS and XPS Study of the Surface Composition of Template Synthesized Intermetallic (Co-Sn, Ni-Sn, Co-Ni) Nanoparticles using a Carbon-Based Support

Abstract
- Intermetallic (Co-Sn, Ni-Sn, Co-Ni) nanoparticles have been synthesized through a borohydride reduction with NaBH4 in a mixture of aqueous solutions of CoCl2.6H2O or NiCl2.6H2O and SnCl2.2H2O salts at room temperature applying a template technique with a carbon-containing support. As a result nanocomposite materials have been in situ obtained. The ratio of the metallic components has been chosen according the phase diagrams of the relevant binary (Co-Sn, Ni-Sn, Co-Ni) systems: Co:Sn=35:65, Ni:Sn=45:55, Co:Ni=50:50. As carbon-containing supports have been used graphite and carbon powder. To avoid the nanoparticle’s aggregation β-cyclodextrin has been added to the reaction solutions. To study the surface composition of the synthesized intermetallic nanoparticles and their carbon-based nanocomposites EDS and XPS investigation methods have been applied. The particle’s morphology is typical for alloyed materials. The nanoparticles are characterized by a relatively high specific surface area. Both the elemental and phase composition of the investigated particles and their carbon-containing composites do not alter using different carbon-containing supports. They depend only on the ratio between the respective metal components set in the starting reaction solutions according to the phase diagrams of the corresponding binary systems. The sstudies conducted on intermetallic nanoparticles synthesized with various carriers demonstrate that morphology, size, and particle’s specific surface area using different carriers are suitable for use as catalysts, electrode materials in Li-ion batteries and as magnetic materials for biomedical applications. Keywords - Co-Sn, Ni-Sn, Co-Ni nanoparticles, borohydride reduction, nanocomposites, template synthesis, graphite, β-cilcodextrin, carbon powder, EDS, XPS