TUNGSTEN CARBIDE NANOPOWDER SYNTHESIS UNDER THE EXPOSURE OF 24 GHZ GYROTRON RADIATION ON THE NANOCOMPOSITE OF THE W-C SYSTEM OBTAINED IN A THERMAL PLASMA

Abstract

Nanoscale tungsten carbide WC powders are of practical interest for the creation of nanostructured hard alloys with enhanced physical and mechanical characteristics, wear-resistant nanostructured coatings, electrocatalysts in fuel cells, metal melt modifiers [1]. An efficient method for producing tungsten carbide nanopowder is a plasma-chemical synthesis of a multi-component powder nanocomposite system W-C in combination with its subsequent heat treatment [2]. Experimental studies have shown the possibility of producing tungsten carbide WC nanopowder by this method. But the transformation of the nanocomposite in the target product is accompanied by an increase in the size of nanoparticles. We assume that this growth is associated with prolonged heating (several hours) in an electric furnace at a temperature of about 1000 ° C. This time is necessary for the complete transformation of the nanocomposite into the target product. The aim of the work was an experimental study of the formation of tungsten carbide nanopowder WC when processing a multi-component powder nanocomposite system W-C in an electromagnetic field with a frequency of 24 GHz. A multipurpose gyrotron system with a nominal power of 7 kW with at a frequency of 24 GHz was used for the experiments. The microwave application system described in [3]. The powders were treated in an argon flow. The experiments were carried varying exposure time and microwave power. The samples of nanopowders obtained in the experiments were analyzed using the following methods: XRD, TEM, SEM, BET, LDA, CEA. It was established that microwave radiation with a frequency of 24 GHz allows heating samples of powders to a temperature of 1100-1200 C almost immediately (after 1-2 s) after switching on. The tungsten carbide WC is formed in a few minutes under the exposure to microwave radiation of the original W-C nanocomposite system. There is only a slight increase in the average particle size from 20 to 30 nm. The investigations showed that the synthesis of tungsten carbide WC under the microwave heating as compared to conventional heating in an electric furnace may be carried out for significantly less time while maintaining the particles in the nanometer range.The work was carried out within the framework of the Program #14 "Physical chemistry of adsorption phenomena and actinide nanoparticles" of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences.References Z. Zak Fang, Xu Wang, et al. Int. Journal of Refractory Metals & Hard Materials, 2009, 27, 288–299.Samokhin A., Alekseev N., et al. Plasma Chem. Plasma Proc., 2013, 33, 605–616.Samokhin A., Alekseev N., et al. J. Nanotechnol. Eng. Med., 2015, 6, 011008.