Improving the performance of carbon composites by liquid phase activated sintering of MCMBs doped with Ti/Ni or Fe/Ni

A novel fabrication method for carbon composites using liquid phase activated sintering at 1400 °C in vacuum is described. Specimens for testing were prepared by subjecting mixtures of mesocarbon microbeads (MCMBs), Ti/Ni or Fe/Ni powders, and suitable additives, to aqueous tape casting, and molding the tapes into laminates prior to sintering. After sintering XRD showed that there were some eutectic liquid phases formed in the composites, which were favorable to enhancing the densification and reducing the porosity of the carbon composites. The reduction of the interlayer spacing of graphite crystallites due to the addition of the binary metal particles showed that the formation of the eutectic liquid promoted graphitization. The results showed that both the bend strength and the electrical conductivity of the carbon composites were also improved with the addition of the binary metal mixture.