Processing of WC/W composites for extreme environments by colloidal dispersion of powders and SPS sintering

Tungsten and tungsten carbide are materials with high thermomechanical response that are used or have been proposed for extreme environment applications such as first plasma face, or cutting tools. The high melting temperature and strong bonding energy of both materials force the use of powder metallurgical processes and non-conventional sintering routes to achieve dense parts. Consequently, a high dispersion and close contacts of the starting powders are required. In this paper tungsten and tungsten carbide powders are colloidally processed and mixed to achieve composite powders that are sintered later by Spark Plasma Sintering. Starting micrometric tungsten carbide and nanosized tungsten powders are dispersed in water at pH 3. By using a cationic dispersant, the surface charge of the nanosized W suspended in water reverses to positive, ensuring its attachment to the carbide surfaces and the good dispersion of the two phases when both slurries are mixed. Composite powders with volumetric rations of 50WC/50W, 80WC/20W and 90WC/10W as well as pure WC and W are sintered by SPS following the dimensional change of the specimens during the process. It has been proved that complete coverage of the micronic WC by the nanosized W powders, achieved with this colloidal approach, makes the tungsten govern the initial sintering stages. The derivative of the sintering curves is used to detect the solid state reactive sintering temperature of W2C. After sintering, XRD and SEM observations indicate that all the mixture compositions yield to ceramic materials with different W2C/WC ratios, depending on the initial compositions. Dispersion of the two phases is high and no remaining W is detected. Flexure tests at room temperature show that composite materials present a slightly lower fracture strength than pure WC. [Display omitted] •Nanosized W and micrometric WC composite powders have been colloidally processed.•Dimensional change during SPS sintering of composite powders has been evaluated.•The reactive sintering of W2C can be identified by dilatometry.•W2C/WC composite ceramics are fabricated and tested by flexural test.