Abstract
A novel method is proposed in this study to synthesize coarse-grained tungsten carbide (WC) directly from scheelite/wolframite concentrates. The synthetic process was divided into two parts, carburization and crystallization. WC was enriched in iron melt with the increase of temperature and further purified by crystallizing during the cooling process. The thermodynamics calculation for the reduction process and phase diagram analysis for crystallization were investigated. The scanning microscope (SEM) showed that the obtained sample was on the millimeter scale with a tri-prism shape, and all peaks detected by x-ray diffraction matched well with the WC structure. This method will shorten the WC preparation process greatly, and the obtained coarse-crystalline WC may have potential application in conventional cemented carbide, especially for mining and construction tools.
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This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Key Program, Project 51334008) and Program for Changjiang Scholars.
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Sun, F., Chen, X. & Zhao, Z. Synthesis of Coarse-Grained Tungsten Carbide Directly from Scheelite/Wolframite by Carbothermal Reduction and Crystallization. JOM 72, 340–346 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-019-03345-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-019-03345-7