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Oxidation Protection of Niobium

Niobium with 10% Hf and 1% Ti is named as C-103. It oxidises easily at temperatures beyond 600 deg C. Is there any easy-to-apply and wear-resistant oxidation protection possible?

K R Ananth
- Hyderabad, India
2005

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Gold and the platinum family are about the only metals that will not oxidize at that temperature, but they are far from wear resistant.
There is a remote possibility that the vapor deposited diamond like carbon might serve the purpose. I am not familiar with it, have only heard about it.

James Watts
- Navarre, Florida
2005

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There is a full chapter about protection of refractory metals, such as Niobium, from oxidation and wear in the Vol.5 of the Metals Handbook by ASM. You can probably get it through this site or try your favorite search engine. But no technique will be easy or cheap less when dealing with such exotic metals.

Guillermo Marrufo
Monterrey, NL, Mexico
2005

 Ed. note: For the record, finishing.com does not sell the book, but we do offer a book review and a list of places you can buy it from. Thanks, Guillermo.