Study of formation behavior of ZrC in the Fe-Zr-C system during combustion synthesis

ZrC particles were prepared in situ by self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) reaction with the Fe-Zr-C elemental powder mixtures. The reaction behavior and formation route for synthesizing ZrC in the Fe-Zr-C system were investigated. With increasing Fe contents, the adiabatic temperatures, reaction temperatures and ZrC particles sizes were obviously decreased. Fe plays an important role in controlling the reaction behavior and morphology of products, Fe not only inhibits ZrC particle from growing, but also promotes the SHS reaction. The addition of Fe to Zr-C reactants promotes the ZrC-forming reaction.