High-temperature tribological behavior and mechanisms of a high entropy carbide ceramic

Ceramic materials based on the concept of “high-entropy” have demonstrated superior comprehensive properties compared to their individual components, thus becoming a prominent research focus. Here, a (TiZrVNb)C high-entropy carbide ceramic (HECC) was successfully synthesized through spark plasma sintering, and the impact of high-entropy characteristics on tribological behavior from room temperature to 900 °C was studied. Results show that the HECC exhibits enhanced mechanical properties and superior wear resistance across a wide temperature range in comparison to ZrC. The solution strengthening and lattice distortion effects in the HECC not only enhance hardness and fracture toughness, but also confer exceptional wear resistance. Additionally, the high entropy effect brought by the HECC's multi-component significantly enhances its oxidation performance at high temperatures, and enables the oxide layer to effectively play the role of friction and wear barrier.