Synthesis and characterization of zirconium carbide nanorods at low temperature

A novel chemical synthetic method at low temperature was developed for the synthesis of ZrC nanorods, using ZrCl4 and sodium metal in the presence of naphthalene as the carbon source. The results showed that the ZrCl4, after heat treatment in argon atmosphere at temperatures above 500°C, can be completely converted into ZrC nanorods. However, the initial formation temperature of ZrC was as low as 400 °C whereas ZrO2 as an intermediate product was also produced from the precursor at 300°C, and the mixture was finally transformed into pure ZrC at 700°C. The synthesized ZrC nanorods exhibited cubic lattice structure.