Effect of graphite content on magnetic and mechanical properties of TiC–TiN–Mo–Ni cermets

TiC–10TiN–6Mo–xGr–yNi (mol%, Gr represents graphite, x = 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, and y = 15, 30) cermets were prepared by powder metallurgy method, in order to inverstigate the effect of Gr content on magnetic and mechanical properties of TiC–TiN–Mo–Ni cermets. Room-temperature (RT) saturation magnetization (M_s) and remanence (M_r) of cermets increased with increasing x. This was mainly attributed to that the total content of non-ferromagnetic carbonitride-forming elements Ti and Mo in Ni-based binder phase decreased with increasing x. At the same x, cermets for y = 15 had lower RT M_s and M_r than those for y = 30. Cermets containing more than 2 mol% Gr became ferromagnetic at RT. Bending strength of cermets first increased and then decreased with increasing x. It reached the maximum at x = 2, mainly due to high total content of solutes Ti and Mo in Ni-based binder phase, and moderate thickness of outer rim of Ti(C,N) ceramic grains. Hardness of cermets was not significantly affected by x, mainly due to the combined action of the decrease of the total content of Ti and Mo in binder phase and the increase of the volume fraction of ceramic grains. At the same x, cermets for y = 15 had lower bending strength and higher hardness than those for y = 30.