Fabrication and mechanical properties of metal matrix composite with homogeneously dispersed ceramic particles

Titanium carbide (TiC) particles were coated with nickel (Ni) to increase their compatibility with a metal matrix, leading to an improvement in the dispersibility of TiC particles in the molten matrix. TiC particles were dispersed into a basic aqueous solution of pH 12, and then nickel nitrate (Ni(NO3)2), as a Ni precursor, was added to the TiC suspension. The interaction between the TiC particles and the Ni precursor is driven by the attractive force between the Ni cations and the TiC particles with negative charge. An inoculant (ferrosilicon), which has been used in the foundry industry to improve crystal growth of graphite, was used as a core particle. The Ni-treated TiC particles were coated onto the surface of the inoculant using an inorganic binder converted into its glass phase by sol–gel reactions. The reinforcement particles prepared through the dual-coating process were then injected into the molten matrix based on iron at 1500°C. The crystal phase of the graphite is more finely and shortly grown in the reinforced metal matrix than in that without the reinforcement particles. This means that the reinforcement particles are homogeneously and uniformly dispersed into the matrix without any aggregation of particles, implying that the mechanical properties of the reinforced matrix would be greater than those of a non-reinforced matrix. Consequently, metal matrix composites with reasonable properties can be fabricated successfully using the reinforcement particles prepared by the dual-coating process.