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Materials
Chemistry In Pictures
Chemistry in Pictures: Tungsten carbide slice
by Craig Bettenhausen
February 26, 2025
Credit: Credit: Qimeng Yang
Tungsten carbide is a great material, durable enough to cut most metals and withstand tough physical and chemical conditions. In most situations, if tungsten carbide isn’t good enough, the next stop is diamond. Because it's so useful, researchers are working hard to understand the material’s limits. University of Toronto graduate student Qimeng Yang used alumina particles to wear away at a quasicrystalline coating made from the material. “The interaction between the coating and the abrasive particles creates a visual effect reminiscent of ocean waves crashing against rocks, forming white, foamy patterns with a dynamic, wavy appearance,” he says. Yang is studying ways of using tungsten carbide quasicrystals as an ice-resistant coating material.
Credit: Qimeng Yang
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Chemical & Engineering News
ISSN 0009-2347
Copyright © 2025 American Chemical Society
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