The oxidation behavior of ZrB2–ZrC composite nanofibers fabricated by electrospinning and carbothermal reduction

Abstract In this paper, ZrB2–ZrC composite nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning method followed by carbothermal reduction process. Nanofibers with ZrC content of 15, 35 and 50 wt%, respectively, were obtained by varying the n(B)/n(Zr) molar ratio. The oxidation resistance of fabricated nanofibers was investigated by the non-isothermal thermogravimetric method. The effect of ZrC content on the oxidation resistance of ZrB2–ZrC composite nanofibers was analyzed systematically. The Kissinger method was used to calculate the oxidative activation energy (E) of the fibers with different ZrC content. The results show that the E values of fiber with n(B)/n(Zr) equal to 2.5, 3.5 and 4 are 219, 362 and 275 kJ/mol. Among the prepared fibers, the fiber with n(B)/n(Zr) of 3.5 has the highest oxidative activation energy and the best oxidation resistance.