Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Tantalum carbide
Introduction
Overview
Overview
Tantalum carbide (TaC) is an extremely hard refractory ceramic material, commercially used in tool bits for cutting tools. The hardness even exceeds that of diamond [1]. It is a heavy, brown powder usually processed by sintering, and an important cermet material. It is sometimes used as a fine-crystalline additive to tungsten carbide alloys. Tantalum carbide has the distinction of being the stoichiometric binary compound with the highest known melting point, at 4150 K (3880°C) [2]. The substoichiometric compound TaC0.89 has a higher melting point, near 4270 K (4000°C)[3].
When used as a mould coating, it produces a low friction surface.
Tantalum carbide-graphite composite material, developed in Los Alamos National Laboratory, is one of the hardest materials ever synthesized.
Dusts from grinding can be flammable.
Substances to avoid are: flammable gases (dust may form explosive mixtures with gases)
References
References
- ↑ Nature’s Building Blocks ANA-Z guide to the elements, ‘ J. Emsley, 2001, ISBN 0-19-850340-7, p. 421
- ↑ CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 85th Edition, 2004, ISBN 0-8493-0485-7
- ↑ The Inorganic Chemistry of Materials: How to Make Things Out Of Elements, P.J. van der Put, 1998, ISBN 0306457318, p. 129