Effect of in situ synthesis TiC on the microstructure of graphene/Ti6Al4V composite fabricated by selective laser melting

Abstract The graphene/Ti6Al4V composite was prepared by selective laser melting, and the effect of the addition of graphene on the microstructure of the composite was studied. The in situ synthesis of graphene and Ti6Al4V occurred, and the TiC was formed. Compared with other areas of the molten pool in the composite material, the grain of the overlap zone becomes smaller and a large number of basket-weave structures are formed and more TiC in the remelting zone than the melting zone. The addition of graphene plays a role in heterogeneous nucleation, which makes the internal structure of the composite finer than pure Ti6Al4V. The formation of the semi-coherent interface between TiC and α-Ti leads to strong interface bonding.