Wetting behavior of AgCu-4.5Ti filler reinforced by carbon nanotubes on C/C composite

Abstract The effect of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) content on the wettability of AgCu-4.5Ti + x CNTs (wt%) composite filler alloys on C/C composite was investigated. The results show that the added CNTs reacted with element Ti in the filler and produced the dispersed fine in situ synthesized TiC particles, which increased the consumption of element Ti and provided the nucleus for the growth of Ti-Cu compounds simultaneously. The above effects of introducing CNTs, inhibited the formation of Ti-Cu compounds, also changed the distribution of compounds, which dramatically influenced the interfacial microstructure and characteristics of wetting behavior. The increase of CNTs content refined and dispersed coarse Ti-Cu compounds, decreased the initial spreading temperature, and improved the wettability, but high content of CNTs (more than 0.3 wt%) decreased the wettability of the filler alloy. The wetting interfacial microstructure of corresponding composite filler alloys were analyzed by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometer (EDS) and Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), which consisted of TiC, TiCu, TiCu2 and TiCu4 compound. The typical wetting behavior of AgCu-4.5Ti + 0.3 wt% CNTs composite filler on C/C composite was divided into four stages. The effect mechanism of CNTs content on the wetting behavior was proposed.