Journal of University of Science and Technology Beijing
Volume 14, Number 6, December 2007, Page 1
Corresponding author: Peizhong Feng, E-mail: fengroad@163.com Also available online at www.sciencedirect.com
Materials
Low temperature oxidation behavior of MoSi
2
powders
Peizhong Feng, Xuanhui Qu, Islam S. Humail, and Xueli Du
State Key Laboratory for Advanced Metals and Materials, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
(Received 2006-12-01)
Abstract: The oxidation behavior of molybdenum disilicides (MoSi
2
) powders at 400, 500, and 600ºC for 12 h in air were investi-
gated by using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopic (TEM) techniques. Significant changes were observed
in volume, mass, and color. Especially at 500ºC, the volume expansion was found to be as high as 7-8 times and the color changed
from black to yellow-white, and the mass gain was about 169.34% after 8 h, with SiO
2
and MoO
3
as main reaction products. The
gain in volume and mass was less at 400 and 600ºC compared with that at 500ºC, probably due to the less reaction rate at 400ºC and
the formation of silica glass scale at 600ºC, which would protect the matrix and restrain the diffusion of oxygen and molybdenum.
Thus, the accelerated oxidation behavior of MoSi
2
powder appeared at 500ºC and the volume expansion was the sign of accelerated
oxidation.
Key words: molybdenum disilicides; low-temperature oxidation; accelerated oxidation; volume expansion
[This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.50025412).]
1. Introduction
Molybdenum disilicides (MoSi
2
) has recently re-
ceived increased attention as a candidate for
high-temperature structural materials to be used in
oxidizing environments because of its high melting
point, good oxidation resistance at elevated tempera-
ture, relatively low density and coefficient of thermal
expansion (CET), high thermal and electric conductiv-
ity, and thermodynamic compatibility with a wide va-
riety of potential ceramic reinforcements. It can also
be alloyed with other high melting point silicides, and
it is nontoxic and environmentally benign [1-3].
However, brittleness at ambient temperature (K
IC
, ap-
proximately 2-3 MP a.m
1/2
), low strength at high tem-
perature (σ
0.2
, approximately 20 MPa at 1600ºC), and
accelerated oxidation behavior at about 500ºC, namely
pesting, cause a serious limitation on the practical use
of MoSi
2
as a structural material [1-4]. Although Fitz-
er first discovered pesting in 1955 and then different
researchers reported achievements from 1960s to
1990s, the fundamental understanding of its mechan-
ism has not yet been satisfactorily clarified [4-6].
Studies had implied that pesting did not occur in
dense, crack- and pore-free polycrystalline MoSi
2
might depend on the presence of cracks, porosity, or
alloy composition, in which case the nonselective
oxidation with the formation of MoO
3
and SiO
2
oc-
curred according to the following reaction:
2MoSi
2
+7O
2
=2MoO
3
+4SiO
2
(1)
In Eq. (1), the volume expansion caused by MoO
3
and SiO
2
was about 329.5% in theory, which would
produce internal stress and accelerate crack opening.
Subsequent complete disintegration occurred quickly
with a large volume change.
Many attempts have been made to explain the me-
chanism of pesting, such as an intergranular oxidation
phenomenon, oxidation in preexisting pores and
cracks, grain boundary hardening, volume diffusion,
long nucleation (incubation) followed by rapid growth,
etc. [5-11]. In this study, low-temperature oxidation
behavior of MoSi
2
powders was investigated, and the
mechanism and character of low-temperature accele-
rated oxidation were also discussed.
2. Experimental procedure
MoSi
2
prepared by self-propagating high tempera-
ture synthesis (SHS) was crushed and ball milled to
about 1.0 μm. The properties of raw materials are
shown in Table 1. The powders weighing about 1.0 g
were placed in a porcelain crucible, set in a porcelain
boat,
and loaded into a furnace, which was stabilized