Synthesis of Tungsten Tetraboride

Abstract

A method of forming tungsten tetraboride, by combining tungsten and boron in a molar ratio of from about 1:6 to about 1:12, respectively, and firing the combined tungsten and boron in the hexagonal boron nitride crucible at a temperature of from about 1600 C to about 2000C, to form tungsten tetraboride.

Claims

1. A method of forming tungsten tetraboride, the method comprising the steps of: combining tungsten and boron in a molar ratio of from about 1:6 to about 1:12, respectively, and firing the combined tungsten and boron in a hexagonal boron nitride crucible at a temperature of from about 1600 C to about 2000 C, to form tungsten tetraboride.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the molar ratio is one of about 1:9 or 1:6.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the temperature is about 1800 C.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the firing is accomplished at about one atmosphere.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the firing is accomplished in an argon environment.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the tungsten is provided as tungsten oxide.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the boron is provided as boric acid.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the tungsten is provided as tungsten metal.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the boron is provided as boron metal.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the tungsten and the boron are combined with carbon in the crucible.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the boron is provided as .sup.10B enriched boron.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising milling the tungsten tetraboride to a powder.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising milling the tungsten tetraboride to a powder and compressing the powder into a desired shape.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising milling the tungsten tetraboride to a powder, compressing the powder into a desired shape, and sintering the desired shape.

15. A method of forming tungsten tetraboride into a desired shape, the method comprising the steps of: combining tungsten and boron in a molar ratio of from about 1:6 to about 1:12, respectively, firing the combined tungsten and boron in a hexagonal boron nitride crucible at a temperature of from about 1600 C to about 2000 C, to form tungsten tetraboride, milling the tungsten tetraboride to a powder, compressing the powder into a desired shape, and sintering the desired shape.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the boron is provided as .sup.10B enriched boron.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the firing is accomplished in one of an argon environment or a vacuum environment, and the sintering is accomplished using spark plasma sintering in one of an argon environment or a vacuum environment.

18. A method of forming tungsten tetraboride into a fission reactor shield, the method comprising the steps of: combining tungsten and .sup.10B enriched boron in a molar ratio of from about 1:6 to about 1:12, respectively, firing the combined tungsten and 10B boron in a hexagonal boron nitride crucible at a temperature of from about 1600 C to about 2000C, to form tungsten tetraboride, milling the tungsten tetraboride to a powder, compressing the powder into a desired shape of the fission reactor shield, and sintering the fission reactor shield.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the boron is provided as .sup.10B enriched boric acid.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the firing is accomplished in one of an argon environment or a vacuum environment, and the sintering is accomplished using spark plasma sintering in one of an argon environment or a vacuum environment.

Description

DRAWINGS

[0007] Further advantages of the invention are apparent by reference to the detailed description when considered in conjunction with the figures, which are not to scale so as to more clearly show the details, wherein like reference numbers indicate like elements throughout the several views, and wherein:

[0008] FIG. 1 is a flow chart for a method for making tungsten tetraboride according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0009] FIG. 2 is a summary of the various processing parameters that were used to produce materials according to various embodiments of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION

[0010] With reference now to FIG. 1, there is described a general procedure 100 for preparing tungsten tetraboride according to the embodiments herein. The raw tungsten and boron powders are combined as given in block 102. In some embodiments, a 1:12 W:B molar ratio is combined in a nylon jar mill with acetone and 8YSZ cylindrical milling media for about twelve hours. The slurry is allowed to dry overnight. The mixture is placed into a high purity graphite or boron nitride crucible and processed in a continuous furnace under argon atmosphere at ambient pressure and at temperatures of from about 1800 C to about 2240 C, as given in block 104. The resulting synthesized material is then ball-milled in acetone to a particle size of from about one micron to about three microns and then again allowed to dry, as given in block 106. X-ray diffraction is used to identify and quantify the crystal phases present in the various synthesis batches.

[0011] In FIG. 2, there is presented a summary of the raw materials, synthesis conditions, and resulting quantitative crystal phases for the various trials that were conducted. In Trials 1-7, no WB.sub.4 phases were formed, with the primary phase being WB.sub.2, with minor phases of B.sub.4 C and carbon. It is believed that the presence of carbon from the graphite containment crucibles was causing the WB.sub.2 to be thermodynamically favored. Performing the synthesis in a high purity hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) crucible resulted in a 100% phase-pure WB.sub.4 at a temperature of about 1800 C, using ambient pressure argon atmosphere. The Trial 8 synthesis was repeated and the same result was achieved.

[0012] From this point, the W:B molar ratio and synthesis temperature was investigated to determine the point at which the least amount of additional boron and the lowest temperature resulted in phase pure WB.sub.4. Trials 9 and 10 were synthesized at molar ratios of 1:6, and at two temperatures—about 1600 C and about 1800 C. Using boric acid was shown to produce nearly phase pure WB.sub.4 at about 1800 C. A synthesis temperature of about 1600 C was too low to produce 100% WB.sub.4, whether boron metal or boric acid was used as the boron source. Trial 11 was synthesized at about 1:9 molar ratio and about 1800 C, and resulted in 100% phase pure WB.sub.4.

[0013] .sup.10B enriched boron, in the form of greater than 96 atomic weight percent .sup.10B boron metal powder, was used in Trials 11 and 12. .sup.10B metal powder, although available commercially, is very expensive. However, the phase-pure WB.sub.4 can be synthesized using much-less expensive .sup.10B enriched boric acid in hBN crucibles.

[0014] After the powder synthesis experiments, various trials were complete to form dense compacts of the WB.sub.4, as given in block 108 of FIG. 1, which were then sintered, as given in block 110. Cold pressing followed by pressureless sintering of the compacts in hBN crucibles in an argon atmosphere was investigated, as well as spark plasma sintering (SPS) using graphite dies. For cold-pressing, the milled powders were mixed with a polyethylene glycol binder (DOW Carbowax, 8000 M.W.) and deionized water in a jar mill and then dried at about 60 C for about twelve hours. The mixtures were then passed through a 140-mesh sieve to agglomerate into a free-flowing powder. Hardened steel pressing dies of 25-mm or 60-mm diameter were filled and compacted at up to about 120 MPa. For SPS, the WB.sub.4 milled powder was not mixed with a binder, but was compacted at about 50 MPa in a 25 mm diameter graphite die with a heating rate of about 100 C/min to a temperature of about 1800 C.

[0015] Samples from Trial 11 were compressed to a density of about 3.16 g/cm.sup.3, and subjected to radiation testing. These samples produced an average dose reduction of about 17.5% of .sup.60Co gamma radiation, using direct measurement. The modeling of radiation transport through various shield geometries, using multiple neutron and gamma energy spectra was successfully completed, and showed the potential for more than 30% mass reductions in the Kilopower shield design using WB.sub.4, assuming the same shielding effectiveness as current designs.

[0016] The foregoing description of embodiments for this invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Obvious modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The embodiments are chosen and described in an effort to provide illustrations of the principles of the invention and its practical application, and to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. All such modifications and variations are within the scope of the invention as determined by the appended claims when interpreted in accordance with the breadth to which they are fairly, legally, and equitably entitled.