Synergistic toughening mechanisms of high-entropy carbide–SiC composites via in-situ reaction strategy

Liu He; Fei Peng; Jingru Xu; Nan Lin; Dong Ma; Baishan Chen; Weidong Zhang; Shijun Zhao; Zhenggang Wu

doi:10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2026.118163

Synergistic toughening mechanisms of high-entropy carbide–SiC composites via in-situ reaction strategy

Liu He, Fei Peng^*, Jingru Xu, Nan Lin, Dong Ma, Baishan Chen, Weidong Zhang, Shijun Zhao, Zhenggang Wu^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

Abstract

High-entropy carbide ceramics (HECCs) possess outstanding hardness but constrained by low fracture toughness, limiting structural application. In this work, we propose a novel toughening strategy combining in-situ SiC formation with cationic composition tuning of the HECC matrix. Starting from a (NbTaZrW)C base, MoSi₂ and graphite are introduced as additives to generate finely distributed SiC particles during sintering, while Mo dissolved into the HECC lattice. The resulting (NbTaZrWMo)C–SiC composite exhibits three synergistic toughening mechanisms: (i) abundant growth twins formed within the in situ SiC particles during sintering, effectively alleviating interfacial thermal stresses; (ii) extrinsic toughening via defect-assisted stress accommodation in in-situ SiC particles; and (iii) intrinsic toughening enabled by Mo alloying. The composite achieves a fracture toughness of 8.1±0.5 MPa·m^1/2 while maintaining a high flexural strength of 549±30 MPa. This strategy offers a viable route to fabricating HECCs with mechanical performance beyond the reach of conventional composition design or particle reinforcement. © 2026. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Original language	English
Article number	118163
Number of pages	12
Journal	Journal of the European Ceramic Society
Volume	46
Issue number	8
Online published	22 Jan 2026
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2026.118163
Publication status	Online published - 22 Jan 2026

Funding

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 52271145, 52204388, and 52474389), State Key Laboratory Project of China Minmetals Corporation (No. 2025GZYJ01), Key Program of Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province (2024JJ3011), Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province (2024JJ5075), the Open Research Fund of Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory (2023SLABFN27). TEM analysis provided by Analytical Instrumentation Center of Hunan University.

Research Keywords

High entropy carbide ceramics
In-situ formed SiC
Spark plasma sintering
Toughening mechanism

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title = "Synergistic toughening mechanisms of high-entropy carbide–SiC composites via in-situ reaction strategy",

abstract = "High-entropy carbide ceramics (HECCs) possess outstanding hardness but constrained by low fracture toughness, limiting structural application. In this work, we propose a novel toughening strategy combining in-situ SiC formation with cationic composition tuning of the HECC matrix. Starting from a (NbTaZrW)C base, MoSi₂ and graphite are introduced as additives to generate finely distributed SiC particles during sintering, while Mo dissolved into the HECC lattice. The resulting (NbTaZrWMo)C–SiC composite exhibits three synergistic toughening mechanisms: (i) abundant growth twins formed within the in situ SiC particles during sintering, effectively alleviating interfacial thermal stresses; (ii) extrinsic toughening via defect-assisted stress accommodation in in-situ SiC particles; and (iii) intrinsic toughening enabled by Mo alloying. The composite achieves a fracture toughness of 8.1±0.5 MPa·m1/2 while maintaining a high flexural strength of 549±30 MPa. This strategy offers a viable route to fabricating HECCs with mechanical performance beyond the reach of conventional composition design or particle reinforcement. {\textcopyright} 2026. Published by Elsevier Ltd.",

keywords = "High entropy carbide ceramics, In-situ formed SiC, Spark plasma sintering, Toughening mechanism",

author = "Liu He and Fei Peng and Jingru Xu and Nan Lin and Dong Ma and Baishan Chen and Weidong Zhang and Shijun Zhao and Zhenggang Wu",

year = "2026",

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doi = "10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2026.118163",

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journal = "Journal of the European Ceramic Society",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Synergistic toughening mechanisms of high-entropy carbide–SiC composites via in-situ reaction strategy

AU - He, Liu

AU - Peng, Fei

AU - Xu, Jingru

AU - Lin, Nan

AU - Ma, Dong

AU - Chen, Baishan

AU - Zhang, Weidong

AU - Zhao, Shijun

AU - Wu, Zhenggang

PY - 2026/1/22

Y1 - 2026/1/22

N2 - High-entropy carbide ceramics (HECCs) possess outstanding hardness but constrained by low fracture toughness, limiting structural application. In this work, we propose a novel toughening strategy combining in-situ SiC formation with cationic composition tuning of the HECC matrix. Starting from a (NbTaZrW)C base, MoSi₂ and graphite are introduced as additives to generate finely distributed SiC particles during sintering, while Mo dissolved into the HECC lattice. The resulting (NbTaZrWMo)C–SiC composite exhibits three synergistic toughening mechanisms: (i) abundant growth twins formed within the in situ SiC particles during sintering, effectively alleviating interfacial thermal stresses; (ii) extrinsic toughening via defect-assisted stress accommodation in in-situ SiC particles; and (iii) intrinsic toughening enabled by Mo alloying. The composite achieves a fracture toughness of 8.1±0.5 MPa·m1/2 while maintaining a high flexural strength of 549±30 MPa. This strategy offers a viable route to fabricating HECCs with mechanical performance beyond the reach of conventional composition design or particle reinforcement. © 2026. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

AB - High-entropy carbide ceramics (HECCs) possess outstanding hardness but constrained by low fracture toughness, limiting structural application. In this work, we propose a novel toughening strategy combining in-situ SiC formation with cationic composition tuning of the HECC matrix. Starting from a (NbTaZrW)C base, MoSi₂ and graphite are introduced as additives to generate finely distributed SiC particles during sintering, while Mo dissolved into the HECC lattice. The resulting (NbTaZrWMo)C–SiC composite exhibits three synergistic toughening mechanisms: (i) abundant growth twins formed within the in situ SiC particles during sintering, effectively alleviating interfacial thermal stresses; (ii) extrinsic toughening via defect-assisted stress accommodation in in-situ SiC particles; and (iii) intrinsic toughening enabled by Mo alloying. The composite achieves a fracture toughness of 8.1±0.5 MPa·m1/2 while maintaining a high flexural strength of 549±30 MPa. This strategy offers a viable route to fabricating HECCs with mechanical performance beyond the reach of conventional composition design or particle reinforcement. © 2026. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

KW - High entropy carbide ceramics

KW - In-situ formed SiC

KW - Spark plasma sintering

KW - Toughening mechanism

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DO - 10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2026.118163

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JO - Journal of the European Ceramic Society

JF - Journal of the European Ceramic Society

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ER -

Synergistic toughening mechanisms of high-entropy carbide–SiC composites via in-situ reaction strategy

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