Hafnium carbide (HfC) is a chemical compoundofhafnium and carbon. Previously the material was estimated to have a melting point of about 3,900 °C.[2] More recent tests have been able to conclusively prove that the substance has an even higher melting point of 3,958 °C exceeding those of tantalum carbide and tantalum hafnium carbide which were both previously estimated to be higher.[3] However, it has a low oxidation resistance, with the oxidation starting at temperatures as low as 430 °C.[4] Experimental testing in 2018 confirmed the higher melting point yielding a result of 3,982 (±30°C) with a small possibility that the melting point may even exceed 4,000°C.[5]
Atomistic simulations conducted in 2015 predicted that a similar compound, hafnium carbonitride (HfCN), could have a melting point exceeding even that of hafnium carbide.[6] Experimental evidence gathered in 2020 confirmed that it did indeed have a higher melting point exceeding 4,000 °C,[7] with more recent ab initio molecular dynamics calculations predicting the HfC0.75N0.22 phase to have a melting point as high as 4,110 ± 62 °C, highest known for any material.[8]
Hafnium carbide is usually carbon deficient and therefore its composition is often expressed as HfCx (x = 0.5 to 1.0). It has a cubic (rock-salt) crystal structure at any value of x.[9]
Hafnium carbide powder is obtained by the reductionofhafnium(IV) oxide with carbon at 1,800 to 2,000 °C. A long processing time is required to remove all oxygen. Alternatively, high-purity HfC coatings can be obtained by chemical vapor deposition from a gas mixture of methane, hydrogen, and vaporized hafnium(IV) chloride.
Because of the technical complexity and high cost of the synthesis, HfC has a very limited use, despite its favorable properties such as high hardness (greater than 9 Mohs[10]) and melting point.[2]
The magnetic properties of HfCx change from paramagnetic for x ≤ 0.8 to diamagnetic at larger x. An inverse behavior (dia-paramagnetic transition with increasing x) is observed for TaCx, despite its having the same crystal structure as HfCx.[11]
^Physical Constants of Inorganic Compounds in Lide, D. R., ed. (2005). CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (86th ed.). Boca Raton (FL): CRC Press. pp. 4–44 ff. ISBN0-8493-0486-5.
