Solar absorbent, dense, and self-healing ZrB₂-SiC anti-oxidative multilayer coating for Carbon/Carbon composites

Due to their high tensile strength, high heat conductivity, and low coefficient of thermal expansion, carbon/carbon composites have been proposed as a material of construction for concentrated solar power (CSP) receivers. A combination of reactive pack cementation, chemical vapor deposition, and slurry coating was used to produce a dense, self-healing, and solar absorbent ZrB₂-SiC multilayer protective coating that is effective at moderate to high temperatures (750-850 °C) at which CSP receivers are expected to operate. Oxidation in air at 850 °C for 150 h showed virtually no weight loss with a final solar weighted absorptance of 0.881.