Synthesis and characterization of hexagonal nano tungsten carbide powder using multi walled carbon nanotubes

Tungsten carbide nano particles were formed by carburizing tungsten/tungsten oxide/non-stoichiometric tungsten oxide particles obtained from a wire explosion process with multi walled carbon nano tubes (MWCNT). The produced powder is confirmed to be hexagonal tungsten carbide from wide angle X-ray diffraction analysis. Carburization of tungsten nano particles with MWCNT shows the presence of tungsten sub-carbides in the produced tungsten carbide particles. Transmission electron micrographs show that the tungsten carbide particles are of spherical shape and the geometric mean size of the particles obtained is about 19 nm. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.