Aluminium carbide, al4c3, reacts with water to produce methane (CH4). This ionic compound is used in the aluminum metal industry as a catalyst, reducing agent and a desiccant.

The XRD patterns of an Al-C powder mixture as-milled for 60 h, after thermal treatment at 300-600 degC for 1h, are shown in Fig. 4. The relative intensity of the al4c3 (110) and Al (111) peaks increases as the annealing temperature is increased.

Nanocrystalline carbon particles are produced during milling, which enhance the reaction interface areas between C and Al and increase the diffusion rate of the composites. This results in a better annealing and an enhanced formation of the al4c3 phase, which is critical for the mechanical properties of the materials. In addition, the presence of nanosized al4c3 particles effectively hinders the grain growth phenomenon and increases microhardness of Al-C powder mixture particles after heat treatment.

tags: Calcium nitride powder