Highly conductive wear resistant Cu/Ti3SiC2(TiC/SiC) co-continuous composites via vacuum infiltration process
Dexuan Yang, Yu Zhou, Xingheng Yan, Honglei Wang, Xingui Zhou
Abstract
Abstract The MAX phase Ti 3 SiC 2 has broad application prospects in the field of rail transit, nuclear protective materials and electrode materials due to its excellent electrical conductivity, self-lubricating properties and wear resistance. Cu-Ti 3 SiC 2 co-continuous composites have superior performance due to the continuous distribution of 3D network structures. In this paper, the Cu/Ti 3 SiC 2 (TiC/SiC) co-continuous composites are formed via vacuum infiltration process from Cu and Ti 3 SiC 2 porous ceramics. The co-continuous composites have significantly improved the flexural strength and conductivity of Ti 3 SiC 2 due to the addition of Cu, with the conductivity up to 5.73×10 5 S/m, twice as high as the Ti 3 SiC 2 porous ceramics and five times higher than graphite. The reaction between ingredients leads to an increase in the friction coefficient, while the hard reaction products (TiC x , SiC) lower the overall wear rate (1×10 −3 mm 3 /(N•m)). Excellent electrical conductivity and wear resistance make co-continuous composites more advantageous in areas such as rail transit.