Recent Advances in Boron Carbide: Synthesis and Applications

碳化硼(B4C)凭借其高硬度、低密度、优异中子吸收能力及化学惰性等特性，在核能工程、装甲防护系统、新能源器件等战略性领域展现出重要应用潜力。本文系统综述了碳化硼材料的制备技术及其跨领域应用研究进展：重点探讨了粉体合成方法(碳热还原法、直接合成法、机械合金化法、自蔓延高温合成法及溶胶–凝胶法)与制品制备工艺(化学气相沉积、磁控溅射等关键技术)的机理特征与工艺优化路径；同时基于材料性能–结构关联性，深入阐释了其在防弹轻量化防护、核反应堆中子屏蔽、新能源储能系统及增材制造技术中的核心应用价值。最后，针对当前规模化应用存在的关键瓶颈——包括高能耗生产瓶颈、杂质相控制难题、本征脆性导致的力学性能局限及精密加工技术缺陷，前瞻性提出了绿色低碳制备技术、多尺度复合改性策略与增材制造技术相结合的协同创新体系，为碳化硼材料的工程化发展提供理论指导。Boron carbide (B4C), characterized by its high hardness, low density, exceptional neutron absorption capacity, and chemical inertness, exhibits significant application potential in strategic fields such as nuclear engineering, armored protection systems, and advanced energy devices. This review provides a systematic analysis of the preparation technologies and cross-disciplinary application advancements of boron carbide materials. With particular emphasis on the mechanistic features and process optimization pathways, the synthesis methods for boron carbide powders (including carbothermal reduction, direct synthesis, mechanical alloying, self-propagating high-temperature synthesis, and sol-gel techniques) and fabrication processes for bulk products (such as chemical vapor deposition and magnetron sputtering) are comprehensively discussed. Furthermore, based on the intrinsic structure-property relationships, the core application values of boron carbide in lightweight ballistic protection, neutron shielding for nuclear reactors, energy storage systems, and additive manufacturing technologies are thoroughly elucidated. Finally, addressing critical bottlenecks in large-scale applications—including high energy consumption in production, impurity phase control challenges, intrinsic brittleness-induced mechanical limitations, and precision machining defects—a forward-looking synergistic innovation framework integrating green low-carbon preparation technologies, multiscale composite modification strategies, and additive manufacturing techniques is proposed, offering theoretical guidance for the engineering development of boron carbide materials.