B4C–TiB2 composites fabricated by hot pressing TiC–B mixtures: The effect of B excess

Abstract

Previous research have reported that B4C–TiB2 composites could be prepared by the reactive sintering of TiC–B powder mixtures. However, due to spontaneous oxidation of raw powders, using TiC–B powder mixtures with a B/TiC molar ratio of 6: 1 introduced an intermediate phase of C during the sintering process, which deteriorated the hardness of the composites. In this report, the effects of B excess on the phase composition, microstructure, and mechanical properties of B4C–TiB2 composites fabricated by reactive hot pressing TiC–B powder mixtures were investigated. XRD and Raman spectra confirmed that lattice expansion occurred in B-rich boron carbide and BxC–TiB2 (x > 4) composites were obtained. The increasing B content improved the hardness and fracture toughness but decreased the flexural strength of BxC–TiB2 (x > 4) composites. When the molar ratio of B/TiC increased from 6.6:1 to 7.8:1, the Vickers hardness and the fracture toughness of the composites were enhanced from 26.7 GPa and 4.53 MPa m1/2 to 30.4 GPa and 5.78 MPa m1/2, respectively. The improved hardness was attributed to the microstructural improvement, while the toughening mechanism was crack deflection, crack bridging and crack branching.