Boron carbide (B4C) material is a promising shielding material due to its high hardness and low density, which makes it ideal for use in shielding frames. However, a number of problems with b4c materials have been reported in the shielding field, including its brittleness and tendency to oxidize when heated. These issues are important to note as they can restrict the practical application of B4C parts.
Improved mechanical properties of boron carbide-graphene composites by varying nanoparticle content: laboratory studies and experiments were performed to investigate the effect of different graphene content on the hardness, fracture toughness and microstructure of the composites. In particular, it was shown that the addition of multilayer graphene to boron carbide reduced the mean grain size and improved hardness.
Graphene-B4C-SiC ceramics exhibiting good wear, mechanical and tribological properties were fabricated by a dual ion beam sputtering method in order to study the interaction between the graphene-based coating and the crystalline Si substrate on which it was deposited. This study has revealed that the amorphous carbon coating is an effective and efficient method for the protection of Si substrates against corrosive environments.
Characterization of the surface chemistry and morphology of the B4C samples: X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to investigate changes in the B4C pore structure and bulk chemical stoichiometry as a function of the plasma treatment. Moreover, EDX and SEM were used to analyze changes in the B4C morphology induced by the plasma treatment.
The results obtained by XRR analysis indicate that after the amorphous carbon coating and RF plasma cleaning, the rms surface roughness of the a-C layer decreased significantly, indicating a successful and efficient plasma cleaning.