Reduction of WO3 to nano-WC by thermo-chemical reaction route

Thermo-chemical reaction route has been used to synthesize WC-nanoparticles from WO3. Two different carbon sources are used to study the effect of these sources on synthesis. The as-prepared samples are characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential thermal analyzer (DTA), thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The results indicate that reduction of WO3 to WC takes place by the adsorption of carbon at the surface of WO3 forming porous structure at the defect sites through which carbon diffuses. As the concentration of adsorbed carbon increases the growth of carbon nanotube starts from this site which ultimately gets converted to carbon nano-fibers of higher chemical activity.