Chemical Interactions in the Aluminum-Carbon and Aluminum-Silicon Carbide Systems

X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) was used to investigate the influence of O2 and H2O on the formation of aluminum carbide at aluminum-carbon and aluminumsilicon carbide interfaces. It was determined that dosing the interfaces with H2O catalyzed the formation of aluminum carbide in both the aluminum-carbon and aluminum-silicon carbide systems. This result is consistent with the oxidation model of carbide formation [1], previously developed to understand the kinetics of aluminum carbide formation at graphite-aluminum interfaces. These results imply that the formation of aluminum carbide in graphite and silicon carbide reinforced metal matrix composites, which severely degrades the composite mechanical properties by degrading the fiber and interface strength [2], is catalyzed.