Features of cubic Ni3C and NiC carbides obtained by HT-HP sintering

In this work NiC carbides were manufactured by HP-HT sintering of mechanically alloyed charges of the elemental Ni-carbon nanotubes (CNT) or Ni-Graphite. Structural features of the materials obtained were characterized by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. X-ray diffraction studies have revealed that the crystal lattice of nickel carbide obtained from mechanically alloyed Ni-CNT charge is supplemented with additional Carbon atoms from the graphite shell of the high-pressure cell at HT-HP sintering. On the other hand, nickel carbide fabricated from mechanically alloyed Ni-Graphite charge retains its composition. It is shown that materials studied in this work demonstrate an advanced value of microhardness (up to 7 GPa).