Exploring Physical Properties of Tantalum Carbide at High Pressure and Temperature

Among the transition metal carbides, tantalum carbide (TaC) has gained significant interest due to its attractive mechanical and electronic properties. Here, we have performed high pressure and high temperature (HPHT) measurements on the physical properties of TaC under 5.5 GPa and rhythmically increased temperatures from 1000 to 1500 °C. The microscopic deviatoric strain, Vickers hardness, fracture toughness, grain size, and microstructures are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and microhardness tests. The results reveal that the HPHT sintering causes the densification, which increases the mechanical properties of TaC. At 5.5 GPa and 1300 °C, the Vickers hardness, fracture toughness, relative density, and Young's modulus of TaC are 21.0 GPa, 7.4 MPa m^1/2, 457 GPa, and 97.7%, respectively, which are in good agreement with available experimental and theoretical values. It is found that the mechanical properties of TaC are highly impressible to the microstructures and microscopic deviatoric stress. Our cadent HPHT sintering technique will provide powerful guidance for further synthesis and design of other novel ultrahigh temperature ceramics (UHTCs).