Preparation of directionally solidified TiB2–TiC eutectic composites by a floating zone method

TiB2–TiC composites were prepared using TiB2 and TiC powders as starting materials by a floating zone (FZ) method in Ar atmosphere. TiB2–TiC was a binary eutectic system with the eutectic composition of 28TiB2–72TiC (mol%) and showed a laminar texture. The Vickers microhardness of TiB2–TiC eutectic composite was 23 to 26 GPa. The electrical conductivity was 5.0 × 105 to 1.6 × 106 S m− 1 at room temperature and decreased with increasing temperature. The thermal conductivity was 30 to 45 W K− 1 m− 1 at room temperature and slightly decreased with increasing temperature.