3D Periodic and Interpenetrating Tungsten–Silicon Oxycarbide Nanocomposites Designed for Mechanical Robustness

Metal–ceramic nanocomposites exhibit exceptional mechanical properties with a combination of high strength, toughness, and hardness that are not achievable in monolithic metals or ceramics, which make them valuable for applications in fields such as the aerospace and automotive industries. In this study, interpenetrating nanocomposites of three-dimensionally ordered macroporous (3DOM) tungsten–silicon oxycarbide (W–SiOC) were prepared, and their mechanical properties were investigated. In these nanocomposites, the crystalline tungsten and amorphous silicon oxycarbide phases both form continuous and interpenetrating networks, with some discrete free carbon nanodomains. The W–SiOC material inherits the periodic structure from its 3DOM W matrix, and this periodic structure can be maintained up to 1000 °C. In situ SEM micropillar compression tests demonstrated that the 3DOM W–SiOC material could sustain a maximum average stress of 1.1 GPa, a factor of 22 greater than that of the 3DOM W matrix, resulting in a specific strength of 640 MPa/(Mg/m³) at 30 °C. Deformation behavior of the developed 3DOM nanocomposite in a wide temperature range (30–575 °C) was investigated. The deformation mode of 3DOM W–SiOC exhibited a transition from fracture-dominated deformation at low temperatures to plastic deformation above 425 °C.