Revealing the solid-state reaction process among multiphase multicomponent ceramic during ablation

Multiphase design is a promising approach to achieve superior ablation resistance of multicomponent ultra-high temperature ceramic (UHTC), while understanding the ablation mechanism is the foundation. Here, through investigating a three-phase multicomponent ceramic consisting of Hf-rich carbide, Nb-rich carbide, and Zr-rich silicide phases, we report a newly discovered solid-state reaction process among multiphase multicomponent ceramic during ablation. It was found that this solid-state reaction occurred in the matrix/oxide scale interface region. In this process, metal cations are counter-diffused between the multicomponent phases, thereby resulting in their composition evolution, which allows the multicomponent phases to exist stably under a higher oxygen partial pressure, leading to the improvement of thermodynamic stability of three-phase multicomponent ceramic. Additionally, this solid-state reaction process appears synergistic with the preferential oxidation behavior among the oxide scale in enhancing the ablation performance.