Thermo-physical Modeling and Experimental Validation of Core-Shell Nanoparticle Fabrication of Nickel-Titanium (nitinol) Alloy

Nickel-titanium (nitinol) is a biocompatible shape memory alloy with hyperelasticity and biocompatibility property. A three-dimensional heat diffusion model was used in conjunction with phase explosion theory to explain the formation of core-shell nanoparticles of nitinol. The diffusion model was used to evaluate the melt-pool temperature in the ablation region, while the phase explosion theory was used to estimate the thermophysical expansion and subsequent fragmentation of molten and vaporized nitinol. The mathematical parameters were formulated in conjunction with the experimental results of pulsed laser ablation of core-shell nitinol nanoparticles of various sizes. The model was further employed to predict the sizes of the nanoparticles produced at other higher fluences and the results were experimentally validated.