Main industrial preparation methods of boron carbide

What is boron carbide?

Boron carbide, also known as black diamond, is an inorganic substance with the chemical formula B4C, usually gray-black fine powder. It is one of the three hardest materials known (after diamond and cubic boron nitride). It is used in tank armor, bulletproof vests and many industrial applications. Its Mohs hardness is about 9.5. Boron carbide is an important engineering ceramic material. Its hardness is second only to diamond and cubic boron nitride, and is the third hardest material. Boron carbide also has excellent neutron absorption, high wear resistance and chemical stability. These characteristics have played an important role in the civil, aerospace, and military fields.

Industrial preparation method of boron carbide

In recent years, major industrial countries have attached great importance to the development and research of special ceramics, forming a worldwide "ceramic fever" and making great progress. The industrial preparation methods of boron carbide powder mainly include high temperature self-propagating synthesis method, electric arc furnace carbothermic reduction method, chemical gas phase reaction method, gel carbothermic reduction method, etc.

The industrial production of boron carbide often uses carbothermal reduction smelting methods using boric acid and carbon as raw materials. This method requires a large amount of boric acid, and has problems such as high energy consumption and easy introduction of impurities. In view of the above reasons, low energy consumption has been developed. It is a meaningful thing to synthesize boron carbide that is easy to control the particle size of the product.

Overview of boron carbide  powder

Boron carbide has the characteristics of low density, high strength, good high temperature stability, and good chemical stability. Therefore, it is widely used in wear-resistant materials, ceramic reinforcement phases, especially lightweight armor, reactor neutron absorbers, etc. In addition, compared with diamond and cubic boron nitride, boron carbide is easy to manufacture and low in cost, so it is more widely used. In some places, it can replace expensive diamonds, usually used for grinding, grinding, drilling, etc.

B4C powder has the characteristics of high purity, small particle size distribution, and large specific surface area. B4C powder is a synthetic superhard material with a hardness of 9.46; a microhardness of 56-6200Kg/mm2, a ratio of 252g/cm3, and a melting point of 2250 degrees Celsius.

Application of boron carbide powder

Control nuclear fission

Boron carbide can absorb a large number of neutrons without forming any radioactive isotopes. It is an ideal neutron absorber for nuclear power plants. The neutron absorber mainly controls the rate of nuclear fission. Boron carbide is mainly made into controllable rods in the field of nuclear reactors, but sometimes it is made into powder due to the increase in surface area.

During the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986, Russia dropped nearly 2,000 tons of boron carbide and sand, which ultimately prevented the chain reaction in the reactor.

Abrasive

Because boron carbide has long been used as a coarse abrasive. Because of its high melting point, it is not easy to cast into artificial products, but it can be processed into simple shapes by smelting the powder at high temperature. Used for grinding, grinding, drilling and polishing hard materials such as cemented carbide and gemstones.

coating

Boron carbide can also be used as a ceramic coating for warships and helicopters. It is light in weight and has the ability to resist the penetration of the hot press coating by the armor-piercing projectile, forming a complete defense layer.

nozzle

In the munitions industry, it can be used to make gun nozzles. Boron carbide, extremely hard and wear-resistant, does not react with acid and alkali, high and low temperature resistance, high pressure resistance, density ≥2.46g/cm3; microhardness ≥3500kgf/mm2, bending strength ≥400MPa, melting point 2450℃.

Because the boron carbide nozzle has the above-mentioned characteristics of wear resistance and high hardness, the boron carbide sandblasting nozzle will gradually replace the known sandblasting nozzles such as cemented carbide/tungsten steel and silicon carbide, silicon nitride, alumina, and zirconia.

other

Boron carbide is also used in the manufacture of metal borides, smelting sodium boron, boron alloys and special welding.

Price of boron carbide  powder

The price of boron carbide B4C powder will vary randomly with factors such as production costs, transportation costs, international conditions, exchange rates, and market supply and demand of boron carbide B4C powder. Tanki New Materials Co., Ltd. aims to help various industries and chemical wholesalers find high-quality, low-cost nanomaterials and chemicals by providing a full set of customized services. If you are looking for boron carbide B4C powder, please feel free to send an inquiry to get the latest price of boron carbide B4C powder.

Supplier of Boron Carbide Powder

As a global boron carbide B4C powder supplier, Tanki New Materials Co., Ltd. has extensive experience in the performance, application and cost-effective manufacturing of advanced engineering materials. The company has successfully developed a series of powder materials (titanium diboride, silicon hexaboride, molybdenum boride, iron boride), high-purity targets, functional ceramics and structural devices, and provides OEM services.