Preparation of TiC ceramics through aqueous tape casting

TiC laminates are prepared through aqueous tape casting and hot pressing technique. Commercial TiC powders were firstly treated and the surface charge was determined through zeta potential measurement. The stability of concentrated TiC suspensions was characterized by rheological test. Results showed that the isoelectric point of as treated TiC particles moved slight toward more acid region, while the zeta potential curves decrease significantly. TiC suspensions exhibit a high degree of particle stabilization. After tape casting, TiC sheets are laminated and hot pressed. The strength and fracture toughness of TiC samples at 1850 degrees C are 532 MPa and 6.41 MPa m(1/2), respectively. The fracture mode is a mixture of intergranular and intragranular type. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.