Refining of nickel by chemical-solidification methods

The optimum set of chemical-solidification operations for the production of high-purity nickel is determined. At the first stage, initial metallic nickel is subjected to zone chlorination. At the second stage, nickel chloride is purified using zone sublimation. At the third stage, nickel chloride is subjected to homogeneous reduction by hydrogen in a vapor-gas phase. The refining of metallic nickel ends in the growth of high-purity nickel single crystals using crucibleless electron-beam zone melting. This approach is thought to be most promising for the production of high-purity nickel single crystals and sputtered magnetron targets for thin-film deposition in microelectronics.