Interfacial engineering via thermal corrosion: Achieving dual wettability enhancement and thermal expansion gradient transition in sapphire-SiO2f/SiO2 brazed joints

doi:10.1016/j.jmst.2025.09.048

Abstract

Abstract: The demand for multi-band optical transmission makes it challenging for a single material to meet the requirements for fabricating radome windows, with the continuous advancement of radar technology. Herein, NaOH thermal corrosion combined with AgCuInTi filler was employed to address the poor wettability of SiO_2f/SiO₂ composites, enabling low-stress, high-strength joining with sapphire. The corrosion products enhanced the surface energy of the SiO_2f/SiO₂ and promoted interfacial reactions, thereby facilitating the wetting and spreading of AgCuInTi on the composites' surface, ultimately reducing the contact angle from 71° to 33°. The typical microstructure of the joint was characterized as: α-Al₂O₃/Ti₂O + Cu₃Ti₃O/Ag(s,s) + Cu(s,s)/Cu₃Ti₃O + Ti₅Si_x (x = 2, 3, and 4) + Na₂Ti₉O₁₉/SiO_2f/SiO₂, achieving a gradient transition in the coefficient of thermal expansion across the brazed seam. Therefore, a maximum shear strength of 52 MPa was achieved when the joint was brazed at 820 °C for 10 min with a corrosion time of 10 min, which is 2.5 times higher than that of the joint without surface modification.

Key words: SiO2f/SiO2 composites, Sapphire, Brazed-joints, Wettability, Thermal corrosion, Microstructures

Ye Zhenyu, Xia Yong, Liu Meng, Wang Zijia, Yang Mengting, Chen Jiping, Li Peixin, Tu Jinchun, Cao Jian, Yan Yaotian, Qi Junlei. Interfacial engineering via thermal corrosion: Achieving dual wettability enhancement and thermal expansion gradient transition in sapphire-SiO_2f/SiO₂ brazed joints[J]. J. Mater. Sci. Technol., 2026, 260: 96-105.

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Interfacial engineering via thermal corrosion: Achieving dual wettability enhancement and thermal expansion gradient transition in sapphire-SiO_2f/SiO₂ brazed joints

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