## 3 Results and Discussion
### Al-STi-B-C-Ce Phase Analysis
#### 3.3.2 SEM Analysis  
Figure 11 shows the SEM image of the Al-5 Ti-BC-Ce alloy specimen and EDX analysis. Figure 11a,b suggests that the nano-reinforcing particulates are distributed in the form of clusters. The particulates are small but numerous. The solidification process of the aluminum melt can provide more nucleation particles, which can be used as an effective intra-crystalline reinforcement to improve the performance of the alloy. The dark regions of the image are the aluminum substrates, and the bright colors refer to the ceramic particles. In Figure 11c1, the larger particles are found to be Al\({}_{3}\)Ti from energy spectrum analysis. Figure 11c2 shows that trace amounts of rare earth element Ce can inhibit the rod-shaped Al\({}_{3}\)Ti phase (80 \(\upmu\)m is reduced to about 10 \(\upmu\)m) and generate the Ti\({}_{2}\)Al\({}_{20}\)Ce phase. The energy spectrum of Figure 11d1, demonstrates that elements B and Ti are high in weight percentage, indicating that the larger particles in Figure 11d are TiB\({}_{2}\). Figure 11d2 shows that the weight percentage of elements C and Ti are high, indicating that the gray spot particles in Figure 11d  
Figure 10: XRD spectrum of Al-Ti-B-C-Ce intermediate alloy.  
Figure 9: The TEM and diffraction patterns of Al-Ti-B intermediate alloy. (**a**) Low magnification SEM, (**b**) High magnification SEM.  
are TiC. Figure 11e is the photomicrographs of the same extraction, showing a hexagonal prismatic phase, with numerous fine granular compounds attached around the hexagonal prism. The energy spectral analysis showed that it is composed of elements Ti, B, Al, and Cu, and has a high content of elements B, Al, and Cu in the spectrum, which are generated by the matrix and the net; therefore, the hexagonal prism is TiB\({}_{2}\). The energy spectrum analysis of the particles attached to the surface of the hexagonal prism, showed that it is composed of elements Ti, C, and B. The generation of B was mainly due to the small phase generated by the hexagonal prism. Therefore, the attached particles were TiC compounds. The energy spectrum analysis of the particles near the hexagonal prism, revealed that the particles were composed of elements C, Ti, and B, and the C content was high; so these fine particles were TiC phases. The results of scanning electron micrographs and energy spectra provided initial confirmation that TiB\({}_{2}\), TiC, and Al\({}_{3}\)Ti particles were contained in the Al-5 Ti-B-C-Ce alloy. The scan images also revealed the morphology of TiB\({}_{2}\) and TiC. Compared to Al-5 Ti-C alone, the Al-5 Ti-B and Al-5 Ti-B-C-Ce phases were smaller and more uniform.  
Figure 11: SEM images and EDX analysis of Al-5 Ti-B-C-Ce alloy specimens SEM images and EDX analysis of Al-5 Ti-B-C-Ce alloy specimens. (**a**) Low magnification SEM; (**b**) High magnification SEM; (**c**) nano phases; (**c**1) EDS of AlTi\({}_{x}\)Ce\({}_{y}\); (**c**2) EDS of Al\({}_{3}\)Ti; (**d**) nano phases; (**d**1) EDS of TiB\({}_{2}\); (**d**2) EDS of TiC; (**e**)nano phases; (**e**1) EDS of TiC; (**e**2) EDS of TiB\({}_{2}\).  
In the early formation stage of the TiC phase, in the high-temperature in situ reaction in the molten alloy, the TiC structure itself contains many C vacancies [34]. This caused instability in the TiC phase structure and poor reinforcement efficiency. According to reports, TiC can degrade rapidly in 30 min. Element B is adjacent to C in the periodic table and has similar properties. In a melt, element B may diffuse and blend into the TiC lattice. This provides a prerequisite for doping with small- sized B atoms, and a way to control the structure and performance of the TiC reinforcement phase. The size of TiC is about 200 nm and the size of TiB\({}_{2}\) ranges from 200-900 nm.