Tantalum carbide is a light brown metallic cubic crystalline powder, belonging to the sodium chloride type cubic crystal system. At present, tantalum carbide is also used as a cemented carbide sintered crystal grain growth inhibitor, which has a significant effect on inhibiting grain growth, with a density of 14.3g/cm3.
Tantalum carbide is insoluble in water, hardly soluble in inorganic acid, soluble in a mixed acid of hydrofluoric acid and nitric acid, and can be decomposed. Strong oxidation resistance, easily melted and decomposed by potassium pyrosulfate. The electrical conductivity is large, and the resistance is 30Ω at room temperature, showing superconducting properties.
The official website of Imperial College London recently announced that the school’s researchers have discovered two materials, tantalum carbide (TaC) and hafnium carbide (HfC) that can withstand extreme high temperatures of nearly 4000℃. Among them, hafnium carbide has the highest melting point, reaching 3958℃. These two high-temperature materials can be used in extreme environments, such as the thermal protection system of a new generation of supersonic aircraft or spacecraft, or the fuel coating in the superheated environment of nuclear reactors.
Tantalum carbide and hafnium carbide are ceramic materials fired at high temperatures. High temperature resistance is not new. However, there is no technology to detect their melting point in the laboratory, so it is impossible to judge what extreme environment they can withstand. The melting points of tantalum carbide and hafnium carbide and their melting points in a ratio of 8:2 between tantalum and hafnium were measured by a new laser-thermal technology. They were 3768℃, 3958℃ and 3905℃ respectively.
The frictional resistance of spacecraft in high-speed flight will generate extremely high temperatures, and new discoveries have proved that the high temperature resistance of tantalum carbide and hafnium carbide is better than any other materials known, and can be used to develop new types of spacecraft, which are in the atmosphere. It flies like an airplane, and then launches into space after gradually accelerating to supersonic speed. With the protection of these high-temperature materials, the new spacecraft will never be destroyed by the extreme heat of leaving or returning to the atmosphere.
Omar Serdiros Baraza, a postdoctoral fellow at Imperial College London who completed this research, said that the nose cap of the spacecraft and the scientific instruments carried by it are inseparable from high-temperature materials, and the more superior performance of tantalum carbide or hafnium carbide in the future It can also help supersonic spacecraft perform manned missions. In addition, the supersonic aircraft developed with these materials will only take 50 minutes to fly from London to Sydney in the future, which will open up new business opportunities in countries around the world.
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