What is boron carbide B4C?

The US Commerce Secretary has announced that the US will temporarily lift tariffs imposed on Ukraine during the Trump administration to help Ukraine recover its economy and continue to show support for the Russia-Ukraine situation. "For steel mills to remain an economic lifeline for the Ukrainian people, they must be able to export steel," the Commerce Department said in a statement.

The Biden administration will announce the lifting of steel tariffs on Ukraine for one year.  Ukraine is a fairly small supplier of U.S. steel, shipping about 218,000 tons in 2019, ranking it 12th among foreign suppliers to the United States, the report said. The U.S. Commerce Department noted that the steel industry is uniquely important to Ukraine's economic strength, with one in 13 people employed in the steel industry. 

Affected by the ever-changing international situation, the supply and prices of international bulk boron carbide are still very uncertain.

What is boron carbide?
The boron carbide chemical formula is B4C, which is a compound known for its hardness. It is the third hardest compound, made of boron and carbon. It doesn’t exist naturally, but it can be synthesized.
 
Boron carbide properties
Boron carbide is a kind of hard ceramic. Its Vickers hardness is more than 30GPa. The only materials harder than boron carbide are diamond and boron nitride. It usually has a dark gray appearance and sometimes looks black. Commonly known as “black diamond”.
 
At room temperature, this compound is usually a solid. It melts at 3036 K and boils at 3770 K. Boron carbide has rhombohedral crystal structure. In addition, it is insoluble in water.
The boron carbide density is about 2.52g/cm3. In addition, boron carbide molar mass is about 55.3 g/mol. The electrical properties of boron carbide are partly similar to those of insulators and partly similar to conductors. Therefore, it is described as a semiconductor.
 
Boron carbide is chemically inert. It rarely reacts spontaneously with chemicals. Boron carbide also has a high cross section and can absorb neutrons.
Boron carbide ceramic bandgap is 2.09eV. Its elastic modulus and fracture toughness are close to the range of diamond. The elastic modulus of boron carbide is about 480 GPa and its fracture toughness is 4 MPa.m1/2.
 
What is boron carbide used for?
Boron carbide filament
Because boron carbide has the ability to absorb neutrons. Boron carbide filaments are less harmful than filaments made of other materials, such as cadmium.
 
Petrol
One of the uses of boron carbide independent of hardness is as a fuel. Boron carbide is usually used as a high-energy fuel in ramjet.
 
Metal matrix composites
Ceramics are needed in the second stage of manufacturing metal matrix composites. Boron carbide is usually a ceramic suitable for this phase.
 
Coating material
Boron carbide sputtering targets and boron carbide evaporation materials are used in deposition processes, including semiconductor deposition, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and physical vapor deposition (PVD). This is because it is chemically inert and hard. Its chemical inertia ensures that it is less likely to be corroded. On the other hand, its hardness ensures that it protects the material from wear.
 
Padlock
High security padlocks are usually made of boron carbide. This is because the padlock is difficult to break because of the hardness of boron carbide.
 
Control rod
Boron carbide has a high cross section that enables it to absorb neutrons. Therefore, boron carbide is commonly used as control rods in nuclear reactors.
 
Bulletproof vests and tank armor
Because of its extraordinary hardness, boron carbide is commonly used to make bulletproof vests and tank armor. Bulletproof vests and tank armor made of boron carbide are impenetrable to bullets and other sharp objects.
 
Abrasive material
Boron carbide is used as an abrasive because of its hardness. It is well known that harder abrasives such as boron carbide are more effective. Boron carbide is usually crushed into smaller sizes to be used as abrasives. Boron carbide is used in cutting tools and grinders.
 
Can boron carbide cut diamond?
Because of its high hardness, boron carbide powder is used as an abrasive for polishing and grinding applications, as well as as a loose abrasive in cutting applications, such as water jet cutting. It can also be used for dressing diamond tools.
 
Boron carbide B4C Price
The price is influenced by many factors including the supply and demand in the market, industry trends, economic activity, market sentiment, and unexpected events.
If you are looking for the latest boron carbide price, you can send us your inquiry for a quote. (sales3@nanotrun.com)
 
Boron carbide Supplier
Luoyang Tongrun Nano Technology Co. Ltd. (TRUNNANO) is a trusted boron carbide manufacturer and boron carbide supplier with over 12-year-experience. We ship our goods all over the world.
 
If you are looking for high-quality B4C powder, please feel free to contact us and send an inquiry. (sales3@nanotrun.com)
 

U.S. oil prices surged about 10% to $105.14 a barrel. This is the highest level since 2014. The world benchmark Brent stock futures oil price soared by about 8% to $105.40 per barrel. The most direct rise in crude oil is inflation. The rise in oil prices means that people’s food, clothing, housing, boron carbide also fluctuates. If you want to know the boron carbide, please feel free to contact us.