bismuth carbide is an interesting metal alloy with a high magnetic diamagnetic property. It has been used in a variety of applications, including magnets, fire-detection equipment, and thermoelectric devices for refrigeration.
Carbides are complex compounds that can be obtained by combining various metallic elements with carbon in an electric furnace. Several types of carbides are formed, including ionic and saltlike carbides (e.g., lithium, calcium, strontium, and barium), interstitial carbides (e.g., boron and silicon), and covalent or molecular carbides.
The most common and widely studied type of carbide is the RC2 group of compounds, consisting of lithium, calcium, and strontium carbonates. These react with water to form a gas mixture that contains hydrogen, acetylene, and methane. Other carbides include boron, uranium, and magnesium carbonates.
bismuth carbide can be prepared by a number of different methods, including leaching with concentrated hydrochloric acid and then precipitating the oxychloride from the solution. In other processes, such as the Betts process, bismuth is extracted from the anode sludge of copper refining.