Tailored MoSi2/SiC composites by mechanical alloying

MoSi2-based composites have been synthesized through the mechanical alloying (MA) of elemental molybdenum and silicon powders with and without carbon additions. The interplay between the phase formation sequence in the powders and the microstructural evolution in the consolidated samples is described. It is shown that the glassy SiO2 phase characteristic of conventional powder processed MoSi2 can be effectively eliminated by combining mechanical alloying, carbon additions, and an in situ carbothermal reduction reaction. Using this approach, composites consisting of uniformly distributed micron-size SiC in an MoSi2 matrix can be formed. The effect of important processing variables such as the extent of carbon additions, extraneous iron pickup during MA, partial pressures of oxygen, consolidation temperatures, and consolidation atmospheres is discussed based on the evidence obtained from DTA, TGA, TEM, and XRD.