Effects of photocatalyst with different physical phases and properties on tribochemical reaction of 4H-SiC

In photocatalytic-assisted magnetorheological polishing (PMRP), both the opacity of the magnetorheological fluid and the non-magnetic properties of the photocatalyst limit the processing efficiency and quality of SiC wafers. In this paper, the magnetorheological fluid is prepared by using photocatalysts with different physical phases (liquid/solid) and properties (magnetic/non-magnetic), and then the friction chemical mechanism is carried out on SiC. The results show that the transmittance of the magnetorheological fluid and the distribution state of the photocatalyst synergistically cooperate to control the chemical oxidation rate of single-crystal SiC. When using magnetic particles with photocatalytic coatings for processing, the photocatalytic reaction spots can be effectively constrained and the SiC oxidation efficiency can be improved. • This paper discovered that magnetic solid catalysts exhibit the most efficient corrosion effect on PMRP of SiC. • The integration of light path design with magnetic catalysts significantly enhances SiC processing efficiency. • Imparting magnetic properties to photocatalysts allows the photocatalytic reaction to be confined to the processing area.