A MoSi₂-SiC-Si oxidation protective coating for carbon/carbon composites

To protect carbon/carbon (C/C) composites from oxidation, a dense coating has been produced by a two-step pack cementation technique. XRD and SEM analysis shows that the as-obtained coating was composed of MoSi₂, SiC and Si with a thickness of 80-100 μm. The MoSi₂-SiC-Si coating has excellent anti-oxidation property, which can protect C/C composites from oxidation at 1773 K in air for 200 h and the corresponding weight loss is only 1.04%. The weight loss of the coated C/C composites is primarily due to the reaction of C/C substrate and oxygen diffusing through the penetration cracks in the coating.