Diffusion and Interdiffusion Study at Al- and O-Terminated Al2O3/AlSi12 Interface Using Molecular Dynamics Simulations

The equivalent characteristics of the materials’ interfaces are known to impact the overall mechanical properties of ceramic–metal composites significantly. One technological method that has been suggested is raising the temperature of the liquid metal to improve the weak wettability of ceramic particles with liquid metals. Therefore, as the first step, it is necessary to produce the diffusion zone at the interface by heating the system and maintaining it at a preset temperature to develop the cohesive zone model of the interface using mode I and mode II fracture tests. This study uses the molecular dynamics method to study the interdiffusion at the interface of α-Al2O3/AlSi12. The hexagonal crystal structure of aluminum oxide with the Al- and O-terminated interfaces with AlSi12 are considered. A single diffusion couple is used for each system to determine the average main and cross ternary interdiffusion coefficients. In addition, the effect of temperature and the termination type on the interdiffusion coefficients is examined. The results demonstrate that the thickness of the interdiffusion zone is proportional to the annealing temperature and time, and Al- and O-terminated interfaces exhibit similar interdiffusion properties.