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Journal of Advanced Ceramics 2024, 13(3): 373-387 https://doi.org/10.26599/JAC.2024.9220862
Research Article | Open Access | Issue | Published: 29 March 2024

Microstructure, elastic/mechanical and thermal properties of CrTaO4: A new thermal barrier material?

Show Author's Information Shuang Zhang1,  Xiaohui Wang2( ),  Chao Zhang2,  Huimin Xiang1,  Yingwei Li3,  Cheng Fang1,  Mingliang Li1,  Hailong Wang1,  Yanchun Zhou1( )
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China
School of Civil Engineering, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
Keywords:
microstructure, synthesis, thermal conductivity, thermal expansion coefficient, melting point, CrTaO4, mechanical and thermal properties
Cite this article:
Zhang S, Wang X, Zhang C, et al. Microstructure, elastic/mechanical and thermal properties of CrTaO4: A new thermal barrier material?. Journal of Advanced Ceramics, 2024, 13(3): 373-387. https://doi.org/10.26599/JAC.2024.9220862
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Abstract Full text About this article

CrTaO4 (or Cr0.5Ta0.5O2) has been unexpectedly found to play a decisive role in improving the oxidation resistance of Cr and Ta-containing refractory high-entropy alloys (RHEAs). This rarely encountered complex oxide can effectively prevent the outward diffusion of metal cations from the RHEAs. Moreover, the oxidation kinetics of CrTaO4-forming RHEAs is comparable to that of the well-known oxidation resistant Cr2O3- and Al2O3-forming Ni-based superalloys. However, CrTaO4 has been ignored and its mechanical and thermal properties have yet to be studied. To fill this research gap and explore the untapped potential for its applications, here we report for the first time the microstructure, mechanical and thermal properties of CrTaO4 prepared by hot-press sintering of solid-state reaction synthesized powders. Using the HAADF and ABF-STEM techniques, rutile crystal structure was confirmed and short range ordering was directly observed. In addition, segregation of Ta and Cr was identified. Intriguingly, CrTaO4 exhibits elastic/mechanical properties similar to those of yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) with Young’s modulus, shear modulus, and bulk modulus of 268, 107, and 181 GPa, respectively, and Vickers hardness, flexural strength, and fracture toughness of 12.2±0.44 GPa, 142±14 MPa, and 1.87±0.074 MPa·m1/2. The analogous elastic/mechanical properties of CrTaO4 to those of YSZ has spurred inquiries to lucrative leverage it as a new thermal barrier material. The measured melting point of CrTaO4 is 2103±20 K. The anisotropic thermal expansion coefficients are αa = (5.68±0.10)×10−6 K−1, αc = (7.81±0.11)×10−6 K−1, with an average thermal expansion coefficient of (6.39±0.11)×10−6 K−1. The room temperature thermal conductivity of CrTaO4 is 1.31 W·m−1·K−1 and declines to 0.66 W·m−1·K−1 at 1473 K, which are lower than most of the currently well-known thermal barrier materials. From the perspective of matched thermal expansion coefficient, CrTaO4 pertains to an eligible thermal barrier material for refractory metals such as Ta, Nb, and RHEAs, and ultrahigh temperature ceramics. As such, this work not only provides fundamental microstructure, elastic/mechanical and thermal properties that are instructive for understanding the protectiveness displayed by CrTaO4 on top of RHEAs but also outreaches its untapped potential as a new thermal barrier material.


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About this article

Microstructure, elastic/mechanical and thermal properties of CrTaO4: A new thermal barrier material?

Show Author's information Shuang Zhang1, Xiaohui Wang2( ), Chao Zhang2, Huimin Xiang1, Yingwei Li3, Cheng Fang1, Mingliang Li1, Hailong Wang1, Yanchun Zhou1( )
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China
School of Civil Engineering, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China

Abstract

CrTaO4 (or Cr0.5Ta0.5O2) has been unexpectedly found to play a decisive role in improving the oxidation resistance of Cr and Ta-containing refractory high-entropy alloys (RHEAs). This rarely encountered complex oxide can effectively prevent the outward diffusion of metal cations from the RHEAs. Moreover, the oxidation kinetics of CrTaO4-forming RHEAs is comparable to that of the well-known oxidation resistant Cr2O3- and Al2O3-forming Ni-based superalloys. However, CrTaO4 has been ignored and its mechanical and thermal properties have yet to be studied. To fill this research gap and explore the untapped potential for its applications, here we report for the first time the microstructure, mechanical and thermal properties of CrTaO4 prepared by hot-press sintering of solid-state reaction synthesized powders. Using the HAADF and ABF-STEM techniques, rutile crystal structure was confirmed and short range ordering was directly observed. In addition, segregation of Ta and Cr was identified. Intriguingly, CrTaO4 exhibits elastic/mechanical properties similar to those of yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) with Young’s modulus, shear modulus, and bulk modulus of 268, 107, and 181 GPa, respectively, and Vickers hardness, flexural strength, and fracture toughness of 12.2±0.44 GPa, 142±14 MPa, and 1.87±0.074 MPa·m1/2. The analogous elastic/mechanical properties of CrTaO4 to those of YSZ has spurred inquiries to lucrative leverage it as a new thermal barrier material. The measured melting point of CrTaO4 is 2103±20 K. The anisotropic thermal expansion coefficients are αa = (5.68±0.10)×10−6 K−1, αc = (7.81±0.11)×10−6 K−1, with an average thermal expansion coefficient of (6.39±0.11)×10−6 K−1. The room temperature thermal conductivity of CrTaO4 is 1.31 W·m−1·K−1 and declines to 0.66 W·m−1·K−1 at 1473 K, which are lower than most of the currently well-known thermal barrier materials. From the perspective of matched thermal expansion coefficient, CrTaO4 pertains to an eligible thermal barrier material for refractory metals such as Ta, Nb, and RHEAs, and ultrahigh temperature ceramics. As such, this work not only provides fundamental microstructure, elastic/mechanical and thermal properties that are instructive for understanding the protectiveness displayed by CrTaO4 on top of RHEAs but also outreaches its untapped potential as a new thermal barrier material.

Keywords: microstructure, synthesis, thermal conductivity, thermal expansion coefficient, melting point, CrTaO4, mechanical and thermal properties

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Publication history
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Publication history

Received: 26 December 2023
Revised: 31 January 2024
Accepted: 02 February 2024
Published: 29 March 2024
Issue date: March 2024

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© The Author(s) 2024.

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. U23A20562 and 52302074). The authors would like to acknowledge Bin Liu and Yiran Li at Shanghai University for helpful discussion and Guogao Tang at Kaiple Company for TEM performance.

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This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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