Superhard Monoborides: Hardness Enhancement through Alloying in W1- x Tax B

Michael T Yeung; Jialin Lei; Reza Mohammadi; Christopher L Turner; Yue Wang; Sarah H Tolbert; Richard B Kaner

doi:10.1002/adma.201601187

Superhard Monoborides: Hardness Enhancement through Alloying in W1- x Tax B

Adv Mater. 2016 Aug;28(32):6993-8. doi: 10.1002/adma.201601187. Epub 2016 May 20.

Authors

Michael T Yeung¹, Jialin Lei¹, Reza Mohammadi², Christopher L Turner¹, Yue Wang¹, Sarah H Tolbert^{1

3}, Richard B Kaner^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
² Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, 23284, USA.
³ Department of Materials Science and Engineering and California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.

PMID: 27200469
DOI: 10.1002/adma.201601187

Abstract

In tungsten monoboride (WB), the boron atoms are linked in parallel serpentine arrays, with tungsten atoms in between. This lattice is metallic, unlike conventional covalent superhard materials such as diamond or cubic boron nitride. By selectively substituting tungsten atoms with tantalum, the Vickers hardness can be increased to 42.8 GPa, creating a new superhard metal.

Keywords: borides; metals; superhard; ultraincompressible.