The Study of the Synthesis of Nanosized Refractory Carbides by Carbothermal Reduction of Precursor Gels and their Characteristics

Abstract

In the present study, four refractory carbides – TiC, NbC, TaC and SiC - have been produced by carbothermal reduction of a precursor prepared by sol-gel and coat-mix (SiC) process. Binary hydrogels, in which the oxide gel and a pyrolysable organic compound are combined, were prepared as precursors for synthesis of corresponding carbides. The phase structure, crystallite size, morphology and specific surface area of the synthesized powders are investigated by XRD, SEM and BET respectively. Spark plasma sintering (SPS) method (up to 1850 °C, heating rate of 100 °C/min and dwelling time of 5 min.) was used for investigation of compacting of these carbides.