Preparation and oxidation characteristics of ZrC-ZrB₂ composite powders with different proportions

Abstract

ZrC and ZrB₂ are both typical ultra-high temperature ceramics, which can be used in the hyperthermal environment. In this study, a method for preparing ultrafine ZrC-ZrB₂ composite powder was provided, by using the raw materials of nano ZrO₂, carbon black, B₄C, and metallic Ca. It is worth pointing out that ZrC-ZrB₂ composite powder with any proportion of ZrC to ZrB₂ could be synthesized by this method. Firstly, a mixture of ZrC and C was prepared by carbothermal reduction of ZrO₂. By adjusting the addition amount of B₄C, ZrC was boronized by B₄C to generate ZrC-ZrB₂ composite powder with different compositions. Using this method, five composite powders with different molar ratios of ZrC and ZrB₂ (100ZrC, 75ZrC-25ZrB₂, 50ZrC-50ZrB₂, 25ZrC-75ZrB₂, and 100ZrB₂) were prepared. When the temperature of boronization and decarburization process was 1473 K, the particle size of product was only tens of nanometres. Finally, the oxidation characteristics of different composite powders were investigated through oxidation experiments. The oxidation resistance of ZrC-ZrB₂ composite powder continued to increase as the content of ZrB₂ increased.

Keywords

borides / carbides / core-shell structures / powders / ultra-high temperature ceramic

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