Borides applications

For a large number of applications involving ceramic materials, electrical conduction behavior is dorninant. In certain oxides, borides (see Boron compounds), nitrides (qv), and carbides (qv), metallic or fast ionic conduction may occur, making these materials useful in thick-film pastes, in fuel cell apphcations (see Fuel cells), or as electrodes for use over a wide temperature range. Superconductivity is also found in special ceramic oxides, and these materials are undergoing intensive research. Other classes of ceramic materials may behave as semiconductors (qv). These materials are used in many specialized apphcations including resistance heating elements and in devices such as rectifiers, photocells, varistors, and thermistors. 

As with borides (p. 145) and carbides (p. 297) the formulae of metal silicides cannot be rationalized by the application of simple valency rules, and... 

The borides listed above can all be produced by CVD. With a few exceptions, they have found only limited industrial applications so far, in spite of their excellent properties of hardness, erosion resistance, and high-temperature stability. 

Kaufmanm, L., and Clougherty, E. V., Investigation of Boride Compounds for High Temperature Applications, mProc. 5th Plansee Seminar, pp. 722-738, Reutter, Austria (1965)... 

The synthetic method used in preparing a particular boride phase depends primarily on its intended use. Whereas for basic research borides of high purity are desirable, for industrial applications, e.g., in coatings, tools and crucibles, as a refining agent in metallurgy or in control rods in nuclear energy plants, pure borides are unnecessary. 

Apart from the reactions described above for the formation of thin films of metals and compounds by the use of a solid source of the material, a very important industrial application of vapour phase transport involves the preparation of gas mixtures at room temperature which are then submitted to thermal decomposition in a high temperature furnace to produce a thin film at this temperature. Many of the molecular species and reactions which were considered earlier are used in this procedure, and so the conclusions which were drawn regarding choice and optimal performance apply again. For example, instead of using a solid source to prepare refractory compounds, as in the case of silicon carbide discussed above, a similar reaction has been used to prepare titanium boride coatings on silicon carbide and hafnium diboride coatings on carbon by means of a gaseous input to the deposition furnace (Choy and Derby, 1993) (Shinavski and Diefendorf, 1993). 

Application of carbo-thermal reduction. This is a synthesis process for the preparation of powders of carbides, nitrides and borides. Carbon may be graphite, coke, pyrolysed organic polymers. A reference process may be the Acheson process for the production of SiC ... 

Aliphatic and aromatic sulfides undergo desulfurization with Raney nickel [673], with nickel boride [673], with lithium aluminum hydride in the presence of cupric chloride [675], with titanium dichloride [676], and with triethyl phosphite [677]. In saccharides benzylthioethers were not desulfurized but reduced to toluene and mercaptodeoxysugars using sodium in liquid ammonia [678]. This reduction has general application and replaces catalytic hydrogenolysis, which cannot be used [637]. 

Uses. In spite of unique properties, there are few commercial applications for monolithic shapes of borides. They are used for resistance-heated boats (with boron nitride), for aluminum evaporation, and for sliding electrical contacts. There are a number of potential uses in the control and handling of molten metals and slags where corrosion and erosion resistance are important. Titanium diboride and zirconium diboride are potential cathodes for the aluminum Hall cells (see Aluminum and aluminum alloys). Lanthanum hexaboride and cerium hexaboride are particulady useful as cathodes in electronic devices because of their high thermal emissivities, low work functions, and resistance to poisoning. 

Richardson(Ref 8) in a review of the application of borides and other materials noted that boride -type materials, although brittle, may be useful as components of rocket engines Refs l)Mellor 5(1924),23ff 2)Hackh s(1944),138 3)Kirk Othmer 2(1948),592 4)J.L.Andrieux,Rev Met 45,49-59(1948) JFourElec 57,No 3,54(1948) ... 

According to literature sources mainly oxides, nitrides, borides and carbides are used as ceramic raw materials of chemical and structural applications and the most common elements in these compounds are Be, Mg, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Y, Zr, La, Hf, W, B, Al, Si and Sn. These elements can be found in rather small area of the periodic table, i.e. in the groups 2 up to and including 6, 13 and 14. So apparently relatively few ingredients are used in this branch of ceramics to produce a wide range of products. The tricks of the trade are in the preparation. The properties are determined by a number of factors, such as the nature of the building blocks, the kind of bonds, the strength of the bonds, the crystal structure and the reactivity of the material. 

Recent research has explored a wide variety of filler-matrix combinations for ceramic composites. For example, scientists at the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute have been studying a composite made of silicon carbide fibers embedded in a silicon carbide matrix for use in high-temperature applications, such as spacecraft components and nuclear fusion facilities. Other composites that have been tested include silicon nitride reinforcements embedded in silicon carbide matrix, carbon fibers in boron nitride matrix, silicon nitride in boron nitride, and silicon nitride in titanium nitride. Researchers are also testing other, less common filler and matrix materials in the development of new composites. These include titanium carbide (TiC), titanium boride (TiB2), chromium boride (CrB), zirconium oxide (Zr02), and lanthanum phosphate (LaP04). 

Although few applications have so far been found for ceramic matrix composites, they have shown considerable promise for certain military applications, especially in the manufacture of armor for personnel protection and military vehicles. Historically, monolithic ("pure") ceramics such as aluminum oxide (Al203), boron carbide (B4C), silicon carbide (SiC), tungsten carbide (WC), and titanium diboride (TiB2) have been used as basic components of armor systems. Research has now shown that embedding some type of reinforcement, such as silicon boride (SiBg) or silicon carbide (SiC), can improve the mechanical properties of any of these ceramics. 

Non-oxide ceramic nanomaterials, such as carbides, nitrides, borides, phosphides and silicides, have received considerable attention due to their potential applications in electronics, optics, catalysis, and magnetic storage. In contrast with the traditional processes, such as solid state reactions, CVD, MOCVD and PVD, which involve using high temperatures, toxic organometallic precursors, or complicated reactions and posttreatments, solvothermal method is a low temperature route to these materials with controlled shapes and sizes. 

Most borides are chemically inert in bulk form, which has led to industrial applications as engineering materials, principally at high temperature. The transition metal borides display a considerable resistance to oxidation in air. A few examples of applications are given here. Titanium and zirconium diborides, alone or in admixture with chromium diboride, can endure temperatures of 1500 to 1700 K without extensive attack. In this case, a surface layer of the parent oxides is formed at a relatively low temperature, which prevents further oxidation up to temperatures where the volatility of boron oxide becomes appreciable. In other cases the oxidation is retarded by the formation of some other type of protective layer, for instance, a chromium borate. This behavior is favorable and in contrast to that of the refractory carbides and nitrides, which form gaseous products (carbon oxides and nitrogen) in air at high temperatures. Boron carbide is less resistant to oxidation than the metallic borides. 

The formation of nanotubes is not limited to carbonaceous materials. In fact, a number of inorganic-based nanotubes have been synthesized in recent years - such as metals, oxides, carbides, borides, There are many applications for these mate-... 

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