Preparation of highly dispersed ultra-fine ZrC by combination of carbothermal reduction of ball-milled ZrO2 and C mixture and bead milling

Ultra-fine zirconium carbide powder with particle size below 200 nm was produced by the carbothermal reduction of ZrO2, graphite powder, and subsequent mechanical milling. After heat-treatment at 1400 °C for 2 h under vacuum, ZrC agglomerates (average size, 7.53 μm) were obtained with crystallite sizes of ~ 200 nm. Mechanical bead mill proved to be efficient in dispersing the ZrC powder agglomerates into separate ZrC particles with a narrow particle-size distribution. Only 10 min of milling produced ultra-fine ZrC powder with an average particle size of 170 nm. The synthesized ZrC was found to be compatible with W powder.