Jh. He et al., Thermal stability of nanocrystalline WC-Co powder synthesized by using mechanical milling at low temperature, J MATER RES, 16(2), 2001, pp. 478-488
Nanostructured WC-18% Co powder was synthesized by using cryogenic mechanic
al milling, and the thermal stability of the nanostructured powder was inve
stigated in detail. The results indicated that the as-synthesized WC-18% Co
powder had an average WC particle size of 25 nm. Growth of WC particles oc
curred above 873 K; however, the average WC particle size remained smaller
than 100 nm in the powder isothermally heated for 4 h at 1273 K. Thermal ex
posure in air at T < 623 K did not result in significant oxidation of the c
ryomilled powder. The thermal exposure did promote the formation of WO2 and
WO3 oxides. The Co6W6C phase was detected by x-ray diffraction in the powd
er heated in nitrogen at 1273 K, and the phases associated with decarburiza
tion of WC, such as W2C, W3C phases, were not observed. With increasing tem
perature, the dissolution of W and C elements in the Co matrix led to a gra
dual increase in {111} crystallographic plane spacing, eventually leading t
o the formation of an amorphous phase.