Surface Engineering of Mo-Base Alloys for Elevated-Temperature Environmental Resistance

The synthesis of robust coatings that provide protection against environmental attack at ultrahigh temperatures is a difficult challenge. To achieve this goal for Mo-base alloys, the fundamental concepts of reactive diffusion pathway analysis and kinetic biasing are used to design a multilayer Mo-Si-B-base coating with a phase sequencing that allows for structural and thermodynamic compatibility and an underlying diffusion barrier to maintain coating integrity. The coating design concepts have a general applicability. The coating structure evolution during high-temperature exposure facilitates a prolonged lifetime as well as self-healing capability. The borosilicide coatings that can be synthesized by a pack cementation process yield superior environmental resistance for Mo-base systems at temperatures up to at least 1,700°C and can be adapted to apply to other refractory metal and ceramic systems.