Carbide formation in refractory Mo15Nb20Re15Ta30W20 alloy under a combined high-pressure and high-temperature condition

Abstract

In this work, the formation of carbide with the concertation of carbon at 0.1 at. % in refractory high-entropy alloy (RHEA) Mo15Nb20Re15Ta30W20 was studied under both ambient and high-pressure high-temperature conditions. The x-ray diraction of dilute carbon (C)-doped RHEA under ambient pressure showed that the phases and lattice constant of RHEA were not influenced by the addition of 0.1 at. % C. In contrast, C-doped RHEA showed unexpected phase formation and transformation under combined high-pressure and high-temperature conditions by resistively employing the heated diamond anvil cell (DAC) technique. The new FCC_L12 phase appeared at 6 GPa and 809 °C and preserved the ambient temperature and pressure. High-pressure and high-temperature promoted the formation of carbides Ta3C and Nb3C, which are stable and may further improve the mechanical performance of the dilute C-doped alloy Mo15Nb20Re15Ta30W20.