Perfect wettability of carbon by liquid aluminum achieved by a multifunctional flux

The wettability of carbon (graphite and glassy carbon) by liquid aluminum was studied. A special molten salt (flux) system was developed under which perfect wettability (a zero contact angle) of liquid aluminum was achieved on carbon surfaces. The principal component of the flux is K 2 TiF 6 dissolv...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of materials science 2010-10, Vol.45 (19), p.5177-5190
Main Authors: Baumli, P., Sytchev, J., Kaptay, G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alloys
Aluminum
Aluminum base alloys
Carbon
Characterization and Evaluation of Materials
Chemistry and Materials Science
Classical Mechanics
Contact angle
Crystallography and Scattering Methods
Dissolution
Flux
Fluxes
Glassy carbon
Liquids
Lithium chloride
Materials Science
Molten salts
Polymer Sciences
Solid Mechanics
Specific surface
Surface area
Titanium base alloys
Titanium carbide
Wettability
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Summary:The wettability of carbon (graphite and glassy carbon) by liquid aluminum was studied. A special molten salt (flux) system was developed under which perfect wettability (a zero contact angle) of liquid aluminum was achieved on carbon surfaces. The principal component of the flux is K 2 TiF 6 dissolved in a molten alkali chloride. K 2 TiF 6 is a multifunctional flux component as it performs the following tasks: (i) dissolves the oxide layer covering liquid aluminum, (ii) through an exchange reaction with liquid aluminum it ensures the necessary amount of Ti dissolved in liquid Al, which is needed to cover the Al/C interface by TiC. As TiC is a metallic carbide, it is perfectly wetted by liquid Al–Ti alloys. In this paper, the conditions of perfect wettability of carbon by liquid Al under MCl–K 2 TiF 6 molten salts (fluxes) are found as function of: (i) the basic component of the flux (MCl = LiCl, or NaCl–KCl or CsCl), (ii) K 2 TiF 6 content of the flux, (iii) temperature, (iv) flux:Al weight ratio, (v) specific surface area of Al, and (vi) specific surface area of carbon. A simplified theoretical equation is derived to reproduce the experimental data.
ISSN:0022-2461
1573-4803
DOI:10.1007/s10853-010-4555-8