Insight into the wetting behavior of AgCu‐xTi on ZrO2: Spreading and microstructural evolution

Abstract Understanding the wetting behavior is significant to the fabrication of ceramic/ceramic (or metal) components. Here, the typical AgCu‐ x Ti/ZrO 2 system is selected and its wetting behavior is studied by improved sessile drop method for various Ti content ( x = 1, 2, 3, 4, wt%) at temperature range of 800°C to 950°C. The spreading of AgCu‐ x Ti melt on ZrO 2 substrate consists of two stages: (I) rapid‐spreading stage and (II) sluggish‐spreading stage. The spreading is determined by the interfacial interactions. Two kinds of products, TiO and Cu 3 Ti 3 O, nucleate and grow at the interface. Because of their metallic property, the wettability of AgCu‐ x Ti/ZrO 2 is significantly improved. Before continuous layer forms, the transportation of reactive mass is fast. Therefore, plenty of interfacial products precipitate at the interface resulting in the rapid spreading of AgCu‐ x Ti melt on ZrO 2 . After that, the formed continuous acts as barrier suppressing interfacial reactions, thereby a sluggish‐spreading stage is followed. This work provides insights into the interfacial microstructure inducing spreading of the AgCu‐ x Ti/ZrO 2 system.