Grain Growth Kinetics in (Cr,Mo,Ta,V,W)C1-{\delta} High-Entropy Carbide Ceramics

TL;DR

This study investigates the grain growth kinetics and densification behavior of (Cr,Mo,Ta,V,W)C1-{ extdelta} high-entropy carbide ceramics during spark plasma sintering, revealing temperature-dependent microstructural evolution and diffusion-controlled growth mechanisms.

Contribution

It provides the first quantitative analysis of grain growth kinetics and diffusion activation energy in high-entropy carbides during sintering.

Findings

Grain growth increases with sintering temperature while maintaining single-phase structure.

Elemental segregation reduces with temperature, indicating chemical homogenization.

Activation energy for grain growth is approximately 620 kJ/mol, similar to refractory carbides.

Abstract

Understanding grain-boundary mobility during spark plasma sintering can enable microstructure control in high-entropy carbides, yet quantitative grain-growth kinetics remain scarce. In this work, grain growth kinetics and densification behavior were investigated for single-phase fully dense (Cr,Mo,Ta,V,W)C1-{\delta} high-entropy carbide ceramics. Specimens were densified by spark plasma sintering for a constant dwell time of 10 min at temperatures between 1750 {\deg}C and 1950 {\deg}C to isolate the role of temperature on microstructural evolution. Increasing sintering temperature produced grain growth and increased lattice parameter, while maintaining a single-phase rock salt structure. Elemental mapping showed a progressive reduction of Ta segregation with increasing sintering temperature, suggesting enhanced chemical homogenization at elevated temperatures. Grain growth kinetics were analyzed using a normal grain growth model with an assumed growth exponent of n=3, physically reasonable for grain-boundary-controlled growth influenced by solute and vacancy pinning. Arrhenius analysis of the growth factor yielded an apparent activation energy of approximately 620 kJ mol-1, comparable to diffusion-controlled processes in refractory transition-metal carbides. Densification curves revealed rapid consolidation prior to reaching the peak temperature followed by temperature-dominated grain coarsening. These results establish quantitative relationships between densification temperature, grain growth, and diffusion kinetics in a carbide system, providing insight into the microstructural stability of high-entropy, ultra-high-temperature carbide ceramics.