Comparison of rare earth oxides on properties of vitrified diamond composites

The role of rare earth oxides (CeO 2 and Y 2 O 3 ) in the microstructures and properties of vitrified diamond composites was comprehensively investigated. The results revealed that the incorporation of appropriate amounts of CeO 2 or Y 2 O 3 could not only decrease the refractoriness but also increase the fluidity of vitrified bonds. In comparison with composites containing Y 2 O 3 , composites doped with CeO 2 possessed lower porosity and coefficient of thermal expansion . When adding 4   wt.% rare earth oxides, the flexural strength and thermal conductivity of composites containing CeO 2 simultaneously achieved the maximums, 102.5   MPa and 4.37   W·m −   1 ·k −   1 , respectively, which highly surpassed the values of composites without additives and composites containing Y 2 O 3 . In general, the difference of CeO 2 and Y 2 O 3 on properties of composites was mainly attributed to the different accumulation effects of corresponding cations. CeO 2 played greater impact than Y 2 O 3 on the properties of vitrified diamond composites.