TiSi₂-SiC agglomerates toughened TiC composites prepared by in-situ reaction under high pressure

ABSTRACT

Almost completely dense (>99%) TiC composites toughened by TiSi₂-SiC agglomerates were fabricated by high pressure in-situ reaction sintering of TiC and Si at a lower temperature of 1150°C. In the agglomerates of TiSi₂ and SiC interlocking structures, the size of TiSi₂ particles is controlled on the nanometer and submicron scales. The precursors used in the preparation were TiC and Si. The addition of Si in the precursor can effectively improve the sintering activity of TiC ceramic. Doping a certain amount of Al and increasing the sintering pressure can significantly improve the toughness of the composite. For the first time, TiSi₂-SiC composites were introduced into TiC ceramics, which greatly inproved the toughness of TiC ceramics.

KEYWORDS:

• TiC
• composites
• in-situ synthesis
• high pressure

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China [grant number 11702270]; the Scientific Research Fund of Sichuan Provincial Education Department [grant number 16Za0129].