Synthesis of V8C7–Cr3C2 nanocomposite via a novel in-situ precursor method

• V8C7–Cr3C2 nanocomposite has been synthesized by a novel in-situ precursor method.
• V8C7–Cr3C2 nanocomposite can effectively inhibit grain growth of WC.
• V8C7–Cr3C2 nanocomposite can be synthesized at 900 °C for 1 h.
• The synthesis temperature is 500 °C lower than that of the conventional method.
• The powders show good dispersion and a lower particle size of about 100 nm.

V8C7–Cr3C2 nanocomposite has been synthesized by a novel in-situ precursor method, and the raw materials are ammonium vanadate (NH4VO3), ammonium dichromate ((NH4)2Cr2O7) and glucose (C6H12O6). The products were characterized by thermogravimetric and differential scanning calorimetry (TG-DSC), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques. The results show that V8C7–Cr3C2 nanocomposite with an average crystallite size of 31.5 nm can be synthesized at 900 °C for 1 h. The powders show good dispersion and are mainly composed of spherical or nearly spherical particles with a mean diameter of about 100 nm. The weight loss ratio of the precursor throughout the reaction process reaches 70 wt.%, and it changes rapidly before 400 °C (about 35 wt.%). Four endothermic peaks and three exothermic peaks occur during the reaction. The surface of the specimen is mainly composed of V, Cr, C and O four elements. The synthesis temperature of V8C7–Cr3C2 nanocomposite by the method (900 °C) is 500 °C lower than that of the conventional method (1400 °C).