Zirconium carbide (ZrC) is an extremely hard refractory ceramic material which is used in tool bits for cutting tools

Zirconium carbide (ZrC) is an extremely hard refractory ceramic material commercially used in tool bits for cutting tools It is usually processed by sintering  It has the appearance of a gray metallic powder with cubic crystal structure It is highly corrosion resistant

Like most carbides of refractory metals zirconium carbide is sub-stoichiometric i.e. it contains carbon vacancies At carbon contents higher than approximately ZrC0.98 the material contains free carbon

ZrC reacts with water and acids and is pyrophoric

The mixture of zirconium carbide and tantalum carbide is an important cermet material

Zirconium carbide can be used as refractory coatings in nuclear reactors Zirconium carbide is used extensively as coating of uranium dioxide and thorium dioxide of nuclear fuel The coating is usually deposited by thermal chemical vapor deposition in a fluidized bed reactor

It is also used as an abrasive in metal cladding in cermets  incandescent filaments and cutting tools