Vanadium carbide

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title: "Vanadium carbide" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["carbides", "vanadium(iv)-compounds", "superhard-materials", "refractory-materials", "rock-salt-crystal-structure"] description: "Extremely hard refractory ceramic material" topic_path: "arts/film" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanadium_carbide" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Extremely hard refractory ceramic material ::

| Watchedfields = changed | verifiedrevid = 425019031 | Name = Vanadium carbide | Reference = | ImageFile = NaCl polyhedra.png | ImageName = Vanadium carbide | OtherNames = Vanadium Carbon Vanadium(IV) carbide | Section1 = {{Chembox Identifiers | CASNo_Ref = | CASNo = 12070-10-9 | ChemSpiderID = 27472996 | EINECS = 235-122-5 | PubChem = 159387 | StdInChI=1S/C.V/q-1;+1 | StdInChIKey = ZLANVVMKMCTKMT-UHFFFAOYSA-N | SMILES = [V+]#[C-] | Section2 = {{Chembox Properties | Formula = VC | V=1|C=1 | Appearance = refractory black cubic crystals | Density = 5.77 g/cm3 | Solubility = insoluble | SolubleOther = | MeltingPtC = 2810 | BoilingPt = | Section3 = {{Chembox Structure | CrystalStruct = cubic, cF8 | SpaceGroup = Fm3m, No. 225 | Section9 = {{Chembox Related | OtherCompounds =

Vanadium carbide is the inorganic compound with the formula . It is an extremely hard and refractory ceramic material. With a hardness of 9-9.5 Mohs, it is possibly the hardest metal-carbide known. It is of interest because it is prevalent in vanadium metal and alloys.

Structure and preparation

Being isomorphous with vanadium monoxide, it crystallizes in the rock salt structure. Because VC and VO are miscible, samples of VC typically contain an impurity of the oxide. It is produced by heating vanadium oxides with carbon at around 1000 °C. Vanadium carbide can be formed in the (111) orientation, when formed by radio frequency magnetron sputtering. Although VC is thermodynamically stable, it converts to at higher temperatures. The crystalline structure is halite.

Vanadium carbide is used as an additive to cemented carbide, to refine the carbide crystals and thereby get an increased hardness of the inserts.

Physical properties

Vanadium carbide has an elastic modulus of approximately 380 GPa.

References

References

1. Lide, David R.. (1998). "Handbook of Chemistry and Physics". CRC Press.
2. "Ceramic and Cermet Composite Powders - PPM Ltd.".
3. Günter Bauer, Volker Güther, Hans Hess, Andreas Otto, Oskar Roidl, Heinz Roller, Siegfried Sattelberger "Vanadium and Vanadium Compounds" in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, 2005, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. {{doi. 10.1002/14356007.a27_367
4. (1974). "Elastic moduli measurements of some cubic transition metal carbides and alloyed carbides". Journal of Materials Science.

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