Phosphorus, Alloys Physical properties

Steel is essentially iron with a small amount of carbon. Additional elements are present in small quantities. Contaminants such as sulfur and phosphorus are tolerated at varying levels, depending on the use to which the steel is to be put. Since they are present in the raw material from which the steel is made it is not economic to remove them. Alloying elements such as manganese, silicon, nickel, chromium, molybdenum and vanadium are present at specified levels to improve physical properties such as toughness or corrosion resistance. 

Even though the existence of C3P4 was postulated together with C3N4 as early as in 1984 , no research has been done on carbon phosphide besides a recent work on phosphorus-doped diamond-like carbon films. The present study is therefore expected to provide basic information on the structure and properties of carbon phosphide. It is of interest to know whether C3P4 can form a stable alloy. And if it does, what is the possible structure What physical properties does it have The ultimate aim is to produce a stable form of carbon phosphide having potentially useful electronic properties. 

The physical and mechanical properties of steel depend on its microstructure, that is, the nature, distribution, and amounts of its metallographic constituents as distinct from its chemical composition. The amount and distribution of iron and iron carbide determine most of the properties, although most plain carbon steels also contain manganese, siUcon, phosphorus, sulfur, oxygen, and traces of nitrogen, hydrogen, and other chemical elements such as aluminum and copper. These elements may modify, to a certain extent, the main effects of iron and iron carbide, but the influence of iron carbide always predominates. This is tme even of medium alloy steels, which may contain considerable amounts of nickel, chromium, and molybdenum. 

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