Oxidation-protective and mechanical properties of SiC nanowire-toughened Si–Mo–Cr composite coating for C/C composites

Oxidation-protective SiC nanowire-toughened Si–Mo–Cr composite coating prepared on the carbon/carbon (C/C) composites by chemical vapor deposition and pack cementation was investigated in this study. After incorporating SiC nanowires, the hardness, elastic modulus and fracture toughness of the composite coating were increased by 6.12%, 20.89% and 35.78%, respectively, due to the toughening and strengthening mechanisms including nanowire pullout, nanowire bridging, microcrack deflection and good interaction between nanowire/matrix interface. Thermogravimetric analysis revealed that the maximum weight loss of the coated C/C samples was decreased from 5.87% to 3.93% by incorporating SiC nanowires from room temperature to 1500 °C.