Generally, a carbide is prepared by heating a metal, metal oxide, or metal hydride with carbon or a carbon compound. Barium carbide reacts similarly. Aluminum carbide reacts with water to yield methane.
Some carbides are unaffected by water, e.g., chromium carbide and silicon carbide .
Silicon carbide, almost as hard as diamond, is used as an abrasive. Tungsten carbide, also very hard, is used for cutting edges of machine tools. Iron carbides are present in steel, cast iron, and some other iron alloys. Listing from Electric Library , a pay service. Copyright 2001 Infonautics Corporation .