A novel fabrication of doped C/C composite laminations by aqueous tape casting

Aqueous tape casting of mesocarbon microbeads (MCMB) was applied to prepare carbon/carbon (C/C) composites in which carbon fiber was distributed uniformly. The theology test indicated that the content and length of carbon fiber influenced the viscosity of slurries intensively. After casting tapes were laminated at 85 degreesC under 40 MPa and then sintered at 1400 degreesC, C/C composite laminations were obtained. The difference in morphology and shrinkage brought the poor interface bonding between MCMB and carbon fiber, which weakened the performance of C/C composites. However, the performance of C/C composites could obviously be improved by adding dopants. Dopants could not only reduce the porosity of C/C composites and enhance the interface bonding between the carbon fiber and the matrix, but also promote the graphitization of C/C composites. (C) 2003 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.