Solid state metathesis routes to transition metal carbides

Flame initiated (800 °C, 10 s) or bulk thermal (2 days, 1000 °C) reactions of mixed powders of transition metal halides and CaC 2 or Al 4 C 3 produce transition metal carbides (TiC, ZrC, HfC, V 8 C 7 , NbC, TaC, Cr 3 C 2 , Mo 2 C and WC) in good yields. The carbides were characterised by X-ray powder diffraction, SEM/EDX, FTIR, microelemental analysis, TEM, electron diffraction and ELNES.