Consolidation and properties of ultrafine binderless cemented carbide by spark plasma sintering

Owing to the absence of metal binder, binderless cemented carbides have higher wear, corrosion, and oxidation resistance. WC-0.3VC0.5Cr(3)C(2) powders with an average particle size of 200 nm and a little amount of active element were consolidated by spark plasma sintering. The sintered microstructure revealed that the average WC grain size was 0.24 mu m, which was almost consistent with the initial fine powder. The results of XRD showed that W2C phase was formed. Nearly complete densification of ultrafine binderless cemented carbide was achieved by sintering at 1400 degrees C for 120 s under 50 MPa. The resulting hardness and the fracture toughness were 28.18 GPa and 6.05 MPa.m(1/2), respectively.