Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 February 2011
Nanophase materials can be prepared either by physical methods or chemical methods. Physical methods include thermal evaporation, sputtering and melt quenching, whereas chemical methods include glow-discharge decomposition, chemical vapor deposition, sol-gel dehydration and gas-solid reaction. Recently, we have used controlled activity gassolid reactions to prepare nanophase WC-Co cermet powders at different WC loadings. In the process we have discovered some new metastable phases in the W-Co-C ternary system at temperatures below 1000 °C.