The physical and chemical properties of tungsten carbide are as follows

• Physical properties:

• Appearance: Black hexagonal crystals with metallic luster. Powdered tungsten carbide is gray.

• Hardness: Extremely high hardness, similar to diamond,Tungsten carbide die  Mohs hardness level is about 9 to 9.5, microhardness can reach 17300MPa (Vickers hardness is about 2600), which is about twice that of steel. This makes it important in mechanical processing, cutting tools, wear-resistant materials and other fields, and can withstand high-intensity friction and wear.

• Density: The density is relatively large, at 15.63g/cm³, almost between lead and gold. The high density makes tungsten carbide products have higher weight and stability, which has advantages in some occasions where material density is required.

• Melting point and boiling point: The melting point is as high as 2870℃, and the boiling point is about 6000℃. It is a substance with high melting point and high boiling point. This property enables it to maintain stable performance in high temperature environments, and is suitable for high temperature furnaces, aerospace and other fields that require high temperature resistance of materials.

• Electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity: cold heading die It is a good conductor of electricity and heat, with a high thermal conductivity of 110W·m⁻¹·K⁻¹. Good electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity make tungsten carbide have certain applications in electronics, electrical and other fields, such as it can be used to manufacture resistive heating elements.

• Elastic modulus: The elastic modulus is high, about 530-700GPa, which means that tungsten carbide has good elastic recovery ability when subjected to force and is not prone to permanent deformation.

• Chemical properties:

• Solubility: Insoluble in common acids such as water, hydrochloric acid and sulfuric acid, but easily soluble in nitric acid-hydrofluoric acid mixed acid and aqua regia. This solubility characteristic needs to be considered in the purification, processing and chemical analysis of tungsten carbide.

• Antioxidation: It starts to oxidize at above 500℃ in the air, and its antioxidation ability is weak. Under high temperature conditions, tungsten carbide easily reacts with oxygen in the air to form tungsten oxide, so it is necessary to avoid high-temperature oxidation during use.

• Acid resistance: Strong acid resistance, only corroded by hydrofluoric acid/nitric acid mixture above room temperature. This makes tungsten carbide have good stability in some acidic environments and can be used to manufacture corrosion-resistant parts or equipment.

• Chemical reactivity: It can react violently with fluorine gas at room temperature; it will react with chlorine gas at temperatures above 400℃; it can react with sodium carbonate aqueous solution to form sodium tungstate under high temperature and high pressure. Tungsten carbide can also form solid solutions with many carbides.