Tribological performance of binderless tungsten carbide reinforced by multilayer graphene and SiC whisker

Binderless tungsten carbides (BTC) have attracted the attention of both academia and industry due to their excellent hardness, high-temperature strength as well as corrosion resistance. Herein, a set of binderless WC based composites were developed employing two-step spark plasma sintering. The mechanical response together with tribological performance was investigated as a function of various reinforcements including SiC whisker (SiCw) and multilayer graphene (MLG). The results suggested that the coupling and synergy of MLG and SiCw played a critical role in microstructure refinement and homogenization, consequently advancing the mechanical and tribological properties of BTC. The MLG-SiCw/BTC displayed the optimal comprehensive performances, and the associated toughening and anti-friction mechanisms were determined and analyzed. Such material design offers an effective approach to enhance the mechanical and tribological responses of ceramic materials.