Synthesis of Fe-WC nanocomposite from industrial ferrotungsten via mechanical alloying method

In this paper, the feasibility of the production of Fe-WC nanocomposite by mechanical alloying was investigated. The raw materials containing ferrotungsten and carbon black with tungsten carbide were milled in a planetary ball mill and sampled after different time periods. Studies showed that in samples containing ferrotungsten and carbon black, milling for long times did not lead to the synthesis of tungsten carbide. However, with the addition of 1 wt-% tungsten carbide to the raw materials as nucleation, tungsten carbide was produced after 75 h of milling and was stable in longer time periods. After 125 h of milling, all the raw materials disappeared, and iron emerged in the form of ferrite. From the broadening of the X-ray diffraction peaks, the crystalline size of the synthesised tungsten carbide was estimated in nanoscale. Increasing the milling time results in smaller crystalline size; however, the mean strain increased.