The enhanced mechanical properties for Hf6Ta2O17 thin film through component segregation

With outstanding thermal and mechanical properties, Hf6Ta2O17 emerges as an ideal candidate for nextgeneration thermal barrier coatings (TBC) material. However, high-temperature process during TBC fabrication will inevitably lead to Ta2O5/HfO2 component segregation because large differences in vapor pressure. In this paper, Hf6Ta2O17 polycrystalline film with different Ta2O5/HfO2 component was prepared on sapphire substrate by sol-gel method through spin coating. Morphological analysis indicates the excessive Ta2O5 can reduce the porosity in Hf6Ta2O17 thin film through eutectic process, while excessive HfO2 will lead to a worse morphology and smaller average grain size. Nanoindentation reveals that component segregation of excessive Ta2O5/HfO2 could both be used to strengthen of Hf6Ta2O17 through different mechanisms. In addition, a higher elastic recovery rate in excessive Ta2O5 system indicates Ta2O5-Hf6Ta2O17 eutectic system could accelerate energy dissipation and further enhance the toughness for Hf6Ta2O17. This work provides a deep insight into the strengthening mechanism of ceramics Hf6Ta2O17 with component segregation and paves the way to design of next-generation TBCs.