Synthesis and Microstructural Changes of Nanostructured Tungsten Carbide Powder by Chemical Vapor Condensation Process

Nanosized tungsten carbide powders were synthesized by the chemical vapor condensation(CVC) process using the pyrolysis of tungsten hexacarbonyl($W(CO)_6$). The effect of CVC parameters on the formation and the microstructural change of as-prepared powders were studied by XRD, BET and TEM. The loosely agglomerated nanosized tungsten-carbide($WC_{1-x}$) particles having the smooth rounded tetragonal shape could be obtained below $1000^{\circ}C$ in argon and air atmosphere respectively. The grain size of powders was decreased from 53 nm to 28 nm with increasing reaction temperature. The increase of particle size with reaction temperature represented that the condensation of precursor vapor dominated the powder formation in CVC reactor. The powder prepared at $1000^{\circ}C$ was consisted of the pure W and cubic tungsten-carbide ($WC_{1-x}$), and their surfaces had irregular shape because the pure W was formed on the $WC_{1-x}$ powders. The $WC_{1-x}$ and W powders having the average particles size of about 5 nm were produced in vacuum.

화학기상응축법에 의한 나노구조 텅스텐카바이드 분말의 제조와 미세구조 변화