Boron carbide is one of the three hardest materials known

 Overview of Boron Carbide

Boron carbide, also known as black diamond, is an inorganic substance with a chemical formula of B4C, usually a gray-black micropowder. It is one of the three hardest known materials (after diamond and cubic boron nitride) and is used in tank armor, body armor and many industrial applications. It has a Mohs hardness of about 9.5.

Boron carbide can absorb a large number of neutrons without forming any radioisotopes, so it is an ideal neutron absorber in nuclear power plants, and neutron absorbers mainly control the rate of nuclear fission. Boron carbide is mainly made into controllable rods in nuclear reactors, but sometimes it is made into powder to increase the surface area.

Because of its low density, high strength, high temperature stability and good chemical stability. It is used in wear-resistant materials, ceramic reinforced phases, especially in 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. It can replace expensive diamond in some places and is commonly used in grinding, grinding, drilling and other applications.

It does not react with acid and alkali solutions, and has high chemical potential, neutron absorption, wear resistance and semiconductor conductivity. It is one of the most stable substances to acids and is stable in all concentrated or dilute acid or alkali aqueous solutions. Boron carbide is basically stable below 800 ℃ in the air environment, because the boron oxide formed by its oxidation at a higher temperature is lost in the gas phase, resulting in its instability, and it is oxidized to form carbon dioxide and boron trioxide.

There is special stability when some transition metals and their carbides coexist. Under the condition of 1000～1100℃, the transition metals of groups IV, V and VI in the periodic table react strongly with boron carbide powder to form metal borides. However, at higher reaction temperatures, literature reports indicate that boron carbide is easily nitrided or reacts with transition metal oxides to form corresponding boron nitrides and borides, which are rare earth and alkaline earth metal hexaborides. many.

When sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, sodium carbonate, and potassium carbonate are melted, boron carbide is easily decomposed, and the boron content is measured.

It has a Mohs hardness of about 9.5, the third hardest known substance after diamond and cubic boron nitride, and is higher than silicon carbide. Due to the factors of preparation methods, boron carbide is prone to form carbon defects, resulting in the change of the boron to carbon ratio in a wide range without affecting its crystal structure, which often leads to the reduction of its physical and chemical properties. Such defects are often difficult to resolve by powder diffraction and often require chemical titration and energy loss spectroscopy to determine.

It should be noted that, in addition to B4C, boron carbide materials may have different stoichiometric ratios, and the currently known stoichiometric ratio of B:C is 4~10.5.

Application of boron carbide

control nuclear fission

Boron carbide can absorb a large number of neutrons without forming any radioisotopes, so it is an ideal neutron absorber in nuclear power plants, and neutron absorbers mainly control the rate of nuclear fission. Boron carbide is mainly made into controllable rods in nuclear reactors, but sometimes it is made into powder to increase the surface area.

During the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986, Russia finally stopped the chain reaction in the reactor after dropping nearly 2,000 tons of boron carbide and sand.

Abrasives

Since boron carbide has been used as a grit abrasive a long time ago. Due to its high melting point, it is not easy to be cast into artificial products, but by melting powder at high temperature, it can be processed into simple shapes. It is used for grinding, grinding, drilling and polishing of hard materials such as cemented carbide and precious stones.

coating paint

Boron carbide can also be used as a ceramic coating for warships and helicopters.

nozzle

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

Because of the above characteristics of wear resistance and high hardness of boron carbide nozzles, boron carbide sandblasting nozzles will gradually replace known sandblasting nozzles of cemented carbide/tungsten steel and silicon carbide, silicon nitride, alumina, zirconia and other materials .

other

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

Price of boron carbide B4C powder

The price of boron carbide varies randomly with factors such as production costs,transportation costs,international conditions,exchange rates,and market supply and demand.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, please feel free to contact us for the latest boron carbide prices.

Supplier of Boron Carbide B4C Powder

As a global boron carbide 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 (including chromium carbide,aluminum carbide,titanium carbide,etc.), high-purity targets,functional ceramics and structural devices,and provides OEM services.

Specifications of Boron Carbide B4C powder
Item	Purity	APS	SSA	Color	Morphology	Zeta Potential	Bulk Density
B4C powder	>99%	50nm	42m2/g	Black	hexagonal	-26mV	0.1g /cm3