Enhanced mechanical properties originating from the B doping over Mo-Y2O3 composites

The effect of the heteroatom B dopant on the interfacial cohesion properties of the Mo-Y2O3 composites was explored. And the B doped Mo/Y2O3 composites were successfully fabricated by employing YB6 as additives, which reacted with the Mo base to produce Y2O3 and volatile B2O3 during the sintering. The optimized Mo-1.0 wt % YB6 billets present the largest increment of the ultimate tensile strength (UTS), about 250 MPa larger than that of pure Mo, which is also higher than the theoretical estimated value (200 MPa). The significant difference of UTS above should be attributed to the strengthening effect of B on the Mo grain boundaries (GBs) and Mo/Y2O3 interfaces, in which the presence of B can stabilize and strengthen the interface by reducing interface energy and enlarging the work of separation.