More Microscopic Interfacial Segregation Slowers Macroscopic Grain Growth: A Case in WC-Co Cemented Carbides

In industrial practice, combining grain growth inhibitors (GGIs) with low carbon content effectively restrains WC grain growth in WC-Co cemented carbides. However, the intricate relationship between carbon content, WC grain microstructure, and GGI impact remains unresolved. This study investigates two WC-Co sample sets, maintaining constant VC inhibitor levels but varying carbon content near upper (HC) and lower (LC) limits. SEM analysis revealed distinct morphologies: HC displayed truncated prism shapes, exposing long basal and prismatic terraces, while LC exhibited a saw-tooth morphology with finer grains. EBSD stereology quantified anisotropic WC grain growth, revealing suppressed growth perpendicular to both basal (HC: 0.51 μm vs. LC: 0.38 μm) and prismatic planes (HC: 0.44 μm vs. LC: 0.37 μm) with decreased carbon content. Atomic-resolution EDS showed higher V solute excess in LC at WC(basal)-Co, WC(prismatic)-Co interfaces, and step corners (HC: 4.6, 0.9, and 4.4 atoms/nm2; LC: 5.5, 0.9, and 7.8 atoms/nm2). Our findings elucidate a clear physical understanding that a low carbon content enhances V atom solubility within liquid cobalt, increasing the thickness of complexions to quad-layer on WC (basal)-Co interfaces and forming V-rich nanoprecipitates at step corners. Those inhibitory effects further limited step flow, resulting in pronounced step bunching and a saw-tooth fine-grained morphology in LC samples. This study highlights that complexions housing more inhibitory solute elements exert a stronger drag effect on grain growth front migration. This approach has the potential for studying grain growth in anisotropic materials, highlighting the importance of constructing experimental complexion diagrams in engineering fine-structured ceramics and metals.