A ZrSiO4/SiC oxidation protective coating for carbon/carbon composites

In order to improve the oxidation resistance of carbon/carbon (C/C) composites, a ZrSiO₄ coating on SiC pre-coated C/C composites was prepared by a hydrothermal electrophoretic deposition process. Phase compositions and microstructures of the as-prepared ZrSiO₄/SiC coating were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS). The anti-oxidation property and failure mechanism of the multi-layer coating were investigated. Results show that hydrothermal electrophoretic deposition is an effective route to prepare crack-free ZrSiO₄ outer coatings. The multi-layer coating obviously exhibits two-layer structure. The inner layer is composed of SiC phase and the outer layer is composed of ZrSiO₄ phase. The bonding strength between the outer layer coatings and C/C–SiC substrate are 30.38 MPa. The ZrSiO₄/SiC coating displays excellent oxidation resistance and can protect C/C composites from oxidation at 1773 K for 332 h with a mass loss rate of only 0.48 × 10^− 4 g/cm²·h. The mechanical properties of the specimens are 84.36 MPa before oxidation and 68.29 MPa after oxidation. The corresponding high temperature oxidation activation energy of the coated C/C composites at 1573–1773 K is calculated to be 119.8 kJ/mol. The oxidation process is predominantly controlled by the diffusion rate of oxygen through the ZrSiO₄/SiC multi-coating. The failure of the coating is due to the formation of penetrative holes between the SiC bonding layer and the C/C matrix at 1773 K.