Issue 8, 2012

Probing the microwave interaction mechanisms and reaction pathways in the energy-efficient, ultra-rapid synthesis of tungsten carbide

Abstract

Tungsten carbide, WC, can be prepared by microwave (MW) synthesis in the solid state from its component elements in air on timescales that are orders of magnitude faster than those achieved by conventional heating methods. In a multimode cavity (MMC) MW reactor, the synthesis can be performed in less than 30 min; in a single mode cavity (SMC) reactor the reaction time is reduced to <1 min. Combinations of optical pyrometry, powder X-ray and neutron diffraction, thermal imaging and dielectric measurements demonstrate how these syntheses are self-terminating, initiated at elevated temperature and proceed via the intermediate formation of the sub-carbide W2C. The result is phase-pure, dense, crystalline and stoichiometric WC (hexagonal P[6 with combining macron]m2, a = 2.90567(3) Å, c = 2.83641(3) Å, Z = 1).

Graphical abstract: Probing the microwave interaction mechanisms and reaction pathways in the energy-efficient, ultra-rapid synthesis of tungsten carbide

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
22 Feb 2012
Accepted
14 May 2012
First published
18 May 2012

Green Chem., 2012,14, 2184-2192

Probing the microwave interaction mechanisms and reaction pathways in the energy-efficient, ultra-rapid synthesis of tungsten carbide

S. R. Vallance, H. J. Kitchen, C. Ritter, S. Kingman, G. Dimitrakis and D. H. Gregory, Green Chem., 2012, 14, 2184 DOI: 10.1039/C2GC35272A

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