The effect of Co particle structures on the mechanical properties and microstructure of TiCN-based cermets

Ti(C,N) based cermets are composite materials composed of a hard phase and a binder phase structure. Cubic-structured Co particles are the best choice for the binder phase of Ti(C,N) based cermets due to their excellent toughness performance. However, the application of β-Co particles in cermets has not been reported in the literature so far. In this pioneer study, ultrafine Ti(C,N) based cermet samples were prepared by separately using Co particles of different structures as the binder phase, and the effect of the Co particle structures on the mechanical properties and microstructure of the cermets were studied: First, the Empirical Electron Theory was used to calculate the difference in the interface density (∆ρ) for different crystals, and the interface combined strength between the hard phase of different structures containing Co particles were evaluated. Second, we systematically investigated the evolution of the microstructures of the two cermets during the sintering process, and evaluated the characteristics of the microstructure (which determines the properties of the cermets). Finally, the mechanical properties of the samples were tested, and the performances of the Co structures were evaluated. The results show that β-Co particles can optimize the cermet microstructure, which leads to excellent mechanical performance.