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Journal of Advanced Ceramics 2022, 11(9): 1457-1465 https://doi.org/10.1007/s40145-022-0623-1
Research Article | Open Access | Issue | Published: 17 August 2022

Influence of equiatomic Zr/(Ti,Nb) substitution on microstructure and ultra-high strength of (Ti,Zr,Nb)C medium-entropy ceramics at 1900 ℃

Show Author's Information Qingqing YANGa,  Xingang WANGa( ),  Weichao BAOa,  Ping WUa,  Xiaofei WANGa,  Xiaojie GUOa,  Cheng ZHANGb,  Guojun ZHANGc,  Danyu JIANGa
State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, China
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Institute of Technology, Shanghai 201418, China
Institute of Functional Materials, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China
Keywords:
mechanical property, ultra-high temperature ceramics (UHTCs), medium entropy, non-equimolar compositions, curved and serrated grain boundaries
Cite this article:
YANG Q, WANG X, BAO W, et al. Influence of equiatomic Zr/(Ti,Nb) substitution on microstructure and ultra-high strength of (Ti,Zr,Nb)C medium-entropy ceramics at 1900 ℃. Journal of Advanced Ceramics, 2022, 11(9): 1457-1465. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40145-022-0623-1
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Abstract Full text About this article

High-temperature mechanical properties of medium-entropy carbide ceramics have attracted significant attention. Tailoring the microstructure is an effective way to improve these high-temperature mechanical properties, which can be affected by the evolution of the enthalpy and entropy, as well as by lattice distortion and sluggish diffusion. In this study, the effects of equiatomic Zr/(Ti,Nb) substitution (Zr content of 10–40 at%) on the microstructure and high-temperature strength of (Ti,Zr,Nb)C medium-entropy ceramics were investigated. The grain size of the (Ti,Zr,Nb)C medium-entropy ceramics was refined from 9.4±3.7 to 1.1±0.4 μm with an increase in the Zr content from 10.0 to 33.3 at%. A further increase in the Zr content to 40 at% resulted in a slight increase in the grain size. At 1900 ℃, the (Ti,Zr,Nb)C medium-entropy ceramics with the Zr contents of 33.3 and 40 at% exhibited ultra-high flexural strengths of 875±43 and 843±71 MPa, respectively, which were higher than those of the transition metal carbides previously reported under similar conditions. Furthermore, relatively smooth grain boundaries, which were detected at a test temperature of 1000 ℃, transformed into curved and serrated boundaries as the temperature increased to 1900 ℃, which may be considered the primary reason for the improved high-temperature flexural strength. The associated mechanism was analyzed and discussed in detail.


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Influence of equiatomic Zr/(Ti,Nb) substitution on microstructure and ultra-high strength of (Ti,Zr,Nb)C medium-entropy ceramics at 1900 ℃

Show Author's information Qingqing YANGa, Xingang WANGa( ), Weichao BAOa, Ping WUa, Xiaofei WANGa, Xiaojie GUOa, Cheng ZHANGb, Guojun ZHANGc, Danyu JIANGa
State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, China
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Institute of Technology, Shanghai 201418, China
Institute of Functional Materials, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China

Abstract

High-temperature mechanical properties of medium-entropy carbide ceramics have attracted significant attention. Tailoring the microstructure is an effective way to improve these high-temperature mechanical properties, which can be affected by the evolution of the enthalpy and entropy, as well as by lattice distortion and sluggish diffusion. In this study, the effects of equiatomic Zr/(Ti,Nb) substitution (Zr content of 10–40 at%) on the microstructure and high-temperature strength of (Ti,Zr,Nb)C medium-entropy ceramics were investigated. The grain size of the (Ti,Zr,Nb)C medium-entropy ceramics was refined from 9.4±3.7 to 1.1±0.4 μm with an increase in the Zr content from 10.0 to 33.3 at%. A further increase in the Zr content to 40 at% resulted in a slight increase in the grain size. At 1900 ℃, the (Ti,Zr,Nb)C medium-entropy ceramics with the Zr contents of 33.3 and 40 at% exhibited ultra-high flexural strengths of 875±43 and 843±71 MPa, respectively, which were higher than those of the transition metal carbides previously reported under similar conditions. Furthermore, relatively smooth grain boundaries, which were detected at a test temperature of 1000 ℃, transformed into curved and serrated boundaries as the temperature increased to 1900 ℃, which may be considered the primary reason for the improved high-temperature flexural strength. The associated mechanism was analyzed and discussed in detail.

Keywords: mechanical property, ultra-high temperature ceramics (UHTCs), medium entropy, non-equimolar compositions, curved and serrated grain boundaries

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Publication history
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Publication history

Received: 21 February 2022
Revised: 15 June 2022
Accepted: 16 June 2022
Published: 17 August 2022
Issue date: September 2022

Copyright

© The Author(s) 2022.

Acknowledgements

Financial supports from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 52172076, 52032001, 11575275, and 52102081) and the State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure are greatly appreciated.

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