Grain boundary segregation induced strong UHTCs at elevated temperatures:A universal mechanism from conventional UHTCs to high entropy UHTCs

Ultra-high temperature ceramics(UHTCs)exhibit a unique combination of excellent properties,including ultra-high melting point,excellent chemical stability,and good oxidation resistance,which make them promising candidates for aerospace and nuclear applications.However,the degradation of hightemperature strength is one of the main limitations for their ultra-high temperature applications.Thus,searching for mechanisms that can help to develop high-performance UHTCs with good high-temperature mechanical properties is urgently needed.To achieve this goal,grain boundary segregation of a series of carbides,including conventional,medium entropy,and high entropy transition metal carbides,i.e.,Zr_(0.95)W_(0.05)C,TiZrHfC_(3),ZrHfNbTaC_(4),TiZrHfNbTaC_(5),were studied by atomistic simulations with a fitted Deep Potential(DP),and the effects of segregation on grain boundary strength were emphasized.For all the studied carbides,grain boundary segregations are realized,which are dominated by the atomic size effect.In addition,tensile simulations indicate that grain boundaries(GBs)will usually be strengthened due to segregation.Our simulation results reveal that grain boundary segregation may be a universal mechanism in enhancing the high-temperature strength of both conventional UHTCs and medium/high entropy UHTCs,since GBs play a key role in controlling the fracture of UHTCs at elevated temperatures.