AP0886 Successful Synthesis of Tungsten Carbide Based Composite by Arc Plasma Melting

Abstract

Among the transition metal carbides, tungsten carbide (WC) has received considerable attention as an advanced material in the world of materials, especially in cutting tools, ballistics, hard face coatings, etc. because of its ultra-hardness, high melting point, low friction coefficient, improved oxidation resistance, etc. Fused tungsten carbide, i.e., WC-W₂C (tungsten semi-carbide) composites synthesized from WC by thermal arc plasma technique within 4 min. of plasma treatment. W₂C phase was found to be more intense with the increasing duration of plasma treatment. XRD study confirms fused tungsten carbide formation (WC-W₂C). FE-SEM, TEM and BET analyses infer about the high density with negligible porous nature of composites. Composite samples show a density of more than 15.72 g/cm³. The total pore volume measured in the composites in the range of 0.07-0.09 cm³/g. Compared to pure WC, we found the composites with improved microhardness. In this work, a 4 min. plasma-treated WC sample shows a relatively higher microhardness of 2190 ± 21 VHN.