The principal aim of this work is the microstructural and phases characterization of the cemented carbide (WC/10Co) doped with rare-earths (La2O3 and CeO2). This cemented carbide is widely used as cutting tool. Several WC/10Co mixtures containing up to 3 wt % La2O3 and CeO2 of the cobalt phase were prepared. The mixed powders were uniaxially pressed at 200 MPa in a cylindrical matrix (phi = 10 mm). The compacts were sintered under vacuum at 1400ºC during 60 min. The relative density of the pieces was determined. The sintered pieces were submitted to X-ray diffraction and scanning electronic microscopy via secondary electron images. The results showed that, within the conditions studied, the addition of rare-earth elements influenced positively the densification of the WC/10Co cemented carbide during the sintering process. The sintered microstructure of pieces didn’t suffer significant modifications with the addition of the rare-earth elements studied.
Cemented carbide; rare-earth; microstructure; XRD
