In this study, a specifically designed B₄C–TiB₂ composite with the typical microstructural feature of a TiB₂ network (cages) that encapsulates a B₄C matrix was fabricated by the molten-salt and spark plasma sintering (SPS) method. The finite-element (FE) calculation results show that the connected TiB₂ cages constitute a thermally conductive network, which effectively improves the overall thermal conductivity of the composite; these results agree well with the experimental results. Moreover, the Vickers indentation results reveal that the TiB₂ network (cages) can effectively impinge/block the propagation of cracks, which increases the composite toughness. The composite was subjected to helium (He) ion irradiation to simulate the situation in which the B₄C–TiB₂ composites serve as neutron absorption material, and for which case a high quantity of He atoms is produced by the B¹⁰ (n, $\alpha$) Li⁷ nuclear reaction. According to the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results, the interfaces between TiB₂ and B₄C act as effective sinks for He atoms, and are preferential nucleation sites for He bubbles. The theoretical and experimental results show that when the B₄C–TiB₂ composites serve as neutron absorption pellets in nuclear reactors, they exhibit a better resistance to their disintegration than pure B₄C pellets. Consequently, the performance of the control rods of nuclear reactors can be improved.

在这项研究中，通过熔融盐和火花等离子体烧结（SPS）方法制造了一种经过特殊设计的B ₄ C–TiB ₂复合材料，该复合材料具有封装B ₄ C基体的典型TiB ₂网络（笼）的微结构特征。有限元（FE）计算结果表明，相连的TiB ₂笼形结构构成了导热网络，有效地提高了复合材料的整体导热性。这些结果与实验结果吻合得很好。此外，维氏压痕结果表明，TiB ₂网络（笼）可以有效地冲击/阻止裂纹的传播，从而增加复合材料的韧性。对复合材料进行氦（He）离子辐照，以模拟B ₄ C–TiB ₂复合材料充当中子吸收材料的情况，在这种情况下，B ¹⁰（n，$\alpha$）李⁷核反应。根据透射电子显微镜（TEM）结果，TiB ₂和B ₄ C之间的界面充当He原子的有效阱，并且是He气泡的优先成核位点。理论和实验结果表明，当B ₄ C–TiB ₂复合材料在核反应堆中用作中子吸收颗粒时，与纯B ₄ C颗粒相比，它们具有更好的抗崩解性。因此，可以提高核反应堆控制杆的性能。