High-temperature atomically laminated materials: The toughening components of ceramic matrix composites

The atomically laminated materials with high temperature resistance, including graphite, hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) and MAX phases, have special mechanical performance compared to isotropic materials. The intrinsic mechanical responses of these layered structures can play an important role in strengthening and toughening ceramic matrix composites. In this review, the synthesis processes and applications of pyrolytic carbon (PyC) interphase, graphite nanoplates (GNPs), h-BN interphase, and h-BN nanoplates (BNNPs) and MAX phases are summarized. Besides, this review also analyzes the differences between the graphite-like structure and the MAX phase structure, in terms of modulus, toughness, anisotropy, and toughening mechanisms. These differences are based on their crystal structures. Finally, we look forward to the future development direction of high-temperature atomically laminated materials for toughening applications.