Production of A1 Based Composite Reinforced with SnO2 Coated SiC Particles

An investigation was carried out on SnO2 coating of SiC particles by sol-gel technique and the production of SnO2 coated 20 vol% SiC particle reinforced composite and unreinforced matrix alloy by squeeze casting. The morphology of the coating and microstructural, interfacial and mechanical properties of the composite were characterized by using an optical microscope, image analyzer, scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersion spectroscopy (EDS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). It has been found that the coating is not degraded during the fabrication process; in other words, SnO 2 coating by sol-gel technique is an effective way to improve the matrix/reinforcement interfacial properties.