Wetting of titanium nitride and titanium carbide by liquid metals

Abstract

The wetting behaviour of Ag, Cu and Cu-Ti alloys on TiC and TiN with a range of stoichiometry has been characterised using the sessile drop method. Cu wets both TiC and TiN below hypostoichiometric compositions of TiC0.6 and TiN0.6. Ag wets TiC at this composition but never wets TiN of any stoichiometry. These results are shown to be in contradiction with the dispersion (Van Der Waals) interaction energy of metal -ceramic interfaces predicted by simple dielectric continuum models. The difference in behaviour between Ag and Cu on TiC and TiN is explained considering the different levels of Ti activity in solution.