Low-temperature fabrication of porous ZrC/C composite material from molten salts

In this work, biological ceramic-wood porous ZrC/C materials were prepared in a KCl-KF molten salt reaction medium, using Zr as a metal source and a C template as C source. The effects of reaction temperature and salts/Zr mole ratio on the formation of porous biomorphic ZrC/C ceramics were investigated. The phase compositions and morphological structures of the C templates and porous ZrC/C ceramics were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and pore size analysis. The results showed that the ZrC grains were equiaxed and enhanced the oxidation resistance of the material. Furthermore, a possible reaction mechanism for the formation of porous biomorphic ZrC/C ceramics in molten salt is proposed.