Catalyst-free synthesis and mechanical characterization of TaC nanowires

TaC nanowires are expected to be an ideal reinforcing material in ultra-high-temperature ceramics. However, their growth mechanisms and mechanical properties remain unclear, and low-cost large-scale synthesis has not been realised. In this study,bulk synthesis of [100]-oriented TaC nanowires is accomplished by carbothermal synthesis through a direct vapor-solid mechanism. Thermal resonance test results show that the synthesized square TaC nanowires with cross-sectional side-lengths of 65 to 497 nm have a size-independent Young’s modulus of(510.6±12.6) GPa;very close to the corresponding values of their bulk counterparts, but differing considerably from previously published measurements. Molecular dynamics(MD) simulations show that TaC nanowires with side-lengths of above 15 nm have a constant Young’s modulus of 517 GPa, and size effects on the modulus values should only occur at side-lengths below 15 nm. During bending tests, the TaC nanowires fracture into several segments in a brittle mode, and exhibit an increasing fracture strain from 1.88% to 4.28% as their side-length decreases from 489 to 90 nm. Weibull statistics analyses and TEM observations indicate that the failure of the nanowires should be primarily dependent on the number and size of surface defects. MD simulations further reveal that the defect-free TaC nanowires fail brittlely at a theoretical strain up to 5.76%.