Synthesis of Tungsten Carbides Submicron Powders by High-Frequency Electrospark Treatment Method

A high-frequency electrospark treatment (HFEST) method for the synthesis of submicron tungsten carbide powder from tungsten granules in carbon-containing organic liquid has been developed. The developed pulse power supply provides the specified characteristics of discharge current in the range from 10 to 100 A and voltage in the range from 100 to 600 V. The specified productivity of up to 15 g/h is achieved by the high frequency up to 10 kHz of discharge pulses and voltage of 600 V. X-ray structural analysis of the obtained powder, which was executed on general purpose radiological diffractometer (GPRD-4-07) with the molybdenum cathode, showed fractions of tungsten and tungsten carbides. The image of the particles surface morphology of the obtained powder were executed with JSM-6700F scanning electron microscope confirms that the particles have the linear size from 40 to 200 nm.