Session: Research Posters

Paper Number: 114105

114105 - In-Depth Spectroscopic Study of Hafnium Carbide for Extreme Environments 

Hafnium carbide (HfC) is a promising material for high-temperature applications due to its exceptional properties such as high melting point, excellent thermal conductivity, and good mechanical strength. HfC is an extremely refractory material with a melting point of 3887°C, surpassing both tungsten (W) and graphite at ambient conditions, making it one of the most heat-resistant materials known to date. HfC exhibits a range of attractive properties such as low electric resistivity, low work function, high mechanical strength, high chemical stability, and remarkable wear resistance. The bulk form of HfC is extensively utilized to withstand high-temperature oxidation corrosion and to bear the shock and structural loads in extreme environments such as nuclear fusion reactors and rocket engines. Its exceptional properties make HfC a highly desirable material for a wide range of applications. In order to develop an efficient synthesis method for HfC, it is crucial to characterize the precursor materials using advanced analytical techniques. In this study, a commercial HfC precursor was used and characterized at different processing temperatures ranging from 100 to 400 °C. The present study focuses on their microstructure evolution at various stages of crosslinking in argon atmosphere. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy provided information on the chemical composition and functional groups present in the precursor molecules at various stages of crosslinking process.  ¹H and ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrum provided information on the chemical shifts of the nuclei, which was used to identify the types of atoms and the nature of the chemical bonds within the HfC precursor molecules. In addition, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to gather information on the chemical composition and electronic structure of the precursor molecules. The resulting XPS spectrum provided information on the chemical states of the elements present in the precursor material, as well as their oxidation states and chemical environments. All these advanced spectroscopic techniques enabled to determine the chemistry and architecture of the precursor and its crucial effect on the microstructure of the resulting ceramic material and consequently on its high-temperature behavior. The synthesis of pure HfC powder is the first prerequisite for the fabrication of dense HfC ceramics. Although the quality and performance of ceramic components are important, the cost of mass production is the key factor in the commercialization of HfC ceramics. Thus, it is essential to develop a technique for the synthesis of ceramic powder with reasonably low production costs. Therefore, studies on low-temperature synthesis and low-cost precursors are among the main emphases of ongoing research efforts.

Presenting Author: Mohammed Rasheed Kansas State University

Presenting Author Biography: Mohammed is a senior in the Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering department at Kansas State University.

Authors:

Shakir Bin Mujib Kansas State University
Mohammed Rasheed Kansas State University
Saravanan Arunachalam Spirit AeroSystems Inc.
Gurpreet Singh Kansas State University