Synthesis of Porous Tungsten from Tungsten–Cadmium Film Coatings

Solid solutions (alloys) with a Cd concentration of 50.3–76.3 at % were synthesized for the first time in the form of coatings by ion–plasma sputtering and codeposition of ultrafine W and Cd particles. When coatings were formed by tungsten and cadmium nanolayers, the components dissolved mutually to produce solid solutions of one metal in the other. A solid solution of cadmium in tungsten was synthesized at Cd concentrations up to 60.9 at %. At a cadmium concentration of 68.6 at % in the coating, the crystalline structure of cadmium with an admixture of amorphous tungsten was produced. At 800°C, tungsten evaporated from tungsten–cadmium coatings to form porous tungsten. The results of examination of materials fabricated on the basis of porous tungsten are planned to be used in practice.