Cast iron, the cutting edges of saws and drills, and the penetrating cores of armor-piercing projectiles can all benefit from the addition of tungsten carbide, an important member of the class of inorganic compounds of carbon. Tungsten carbide is used alone or in combination with between 6 and 20 percent of other metals. To make it, heat powdered tungsten with carbon black in the presence of hydrogen at temperatures between 1,400 and 1,600 degrees Celsius (2,550 and 2,900 degrees Fahrenheit). Widia and Carboloy are two of the many trade names that have been given to the cemented composites that are made of tungsten carbide and cobalt.

– A carbide is any member of the class of chemical compounds known as carbides, in which carbon is combined with another element that is either metallic or semimetallic

–  A significant amount of iron carbide, also known as cementite, is present in both steel and cast iron

–  In one of the processes, a heated metal undergoes a reaction with a gaseous hydrocarbon; in the other, a metal is dissolved in liquid ammonia, NH3, and a hydrocarbon is bubbled through the solution

– Both processes are described below

–  Acetylides are a type of carbide that are produced by reacting acetylene with carbon, and they have the C22+ anion in their structure

–  For instance, the best way to prepare alkali metal acetylides is to dissolve the alkali metal in liquid ammonia and then pass acetylene through the solution

– This method yields the desired results

–  They undergo a violent reaction when exposed to water and are oxidized to the carbonate state when heated in air

carbide chemical compound

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The crystal structure of tetragonal calcium carbide, CaC2. carbide

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Silicon carbide is a topic that relates to this. boron carbidetungsten carbidecementite acetylide

Summary

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– A carbide is any member of the class of chemical compounds known as carbides, in which carbon is combined with another element that is either metallic or semimetallic

–  A significant amount of iron carbide, also known as cementite, is present in both steel and cast iron

–  In one of the processes, a heated metal undergoes a reaction with a gaseous hydrocarbon; in the other, a metal is dissolved in liquid ammonia, NH3, and a hydrocarbon is bubbled through the solution

– Both processes are described below

–  Acetylides are a type of carbide that are produced by reacting acetylene with carbon, and they have the C22+ anion in their structure

–  For instance, the best way to prepare alkali metal acetylides is to dissolve the alkali metal in liquid ammonia and then pass acetylene through the solution

– This method yields the desired results

–  They undergo a violent reaction when exposed to water and are oxidized to the carbonate state when heated in air

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READ MORE ON THIS TOPIC Associated with the processing of uranium:

Carbide fuels

Numerous types of carbides derived from uranium and plutonium are known, such as the monocarbides (UC, PuC), the sesquicarbides…

Organizing the various types of carbides

tungsten carbide plate is not easy to categorize carbides according to the type of structure they possess; however, it is possible to group them into three broad categories based on the general tendencies in their properties. The most electropositive metals tend to form ionic or saltlike carbides, the transition metals in the middle of the periodic table have a tendency to form what are known as interstitial carbides, and the nonmetals with an electronegativity similar to that of carbon tend to form covalent or molecular carbides. Beryllium carbide (Be2C) and aluminum carbide (Al4C3) are most likely the methanides that have been studied and characterized the most thoroughly. Brick-red beryllium carbide is produced when beryllium oxide (BeO) and carbon undergo a reaction at temperatures of 2,000 degrees Celsius (3,600 degrees Fahrenheit), whereas pale yellow aluminum carbide is produced when aluminum and carbon are heated together in a furnace. Methane is produced through the typical reaction of a methanide with water in the presence of aluminum carbide.

Al4C3 + 12H2O → 4Al(OH)3 + 3CH4

There are a lot of different acetylides that are well known and can be described in detail. In addition to zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), and mercury (Hg), there are a few other elements that can form acetylides, but they are not as well understood. The calcium carbide, also known as CaC2, is the most significant of these compounds. At temperatures of approximately 2,200 °C (4,000 °F), calcium carbide can be manufactured in an industrial setting from calcium oxide (lime), CaO, and carbon in the form of coke. Pure calcium carbide is a solid that is colorless and has a high melting point of 2,300 degrees Celsius or 4,200 degrees Fahrenheit. Since the reaction of CaC2 with water results in the production of C2H2 as well as a significant amount of heat, the reaction must be carried out under conditions that are very strictly regulated.