Method of the fabrication of refractory compounds

Physical properties of carbides, borides, nitrides and silicides, as well as possible practical application of these compounds are described. A principally novel method of producing refractory materials, so-called ''self-propagating high-temperature synthesis'' (SHS), is reported. This method, based on the utilization of heat which evolves in the exothermal process of interaction between the majority of the elements of the Periodic System with boron, carbon, nitrogen, silicon and others, offers a number of advantages: complete conversion of substances during the synthesis, controllability of the synthesis in the event of changes in its paramters, possibility of producing pure products in large quantities