Currently, the production of complex SiC and SiC/SiC parts through reactive infiltration is one of the most widely used technologies, due to its versatility and cost-effectiveness compared to more conventional technologies such as Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP). This technology, while widely adopted, still faces some debate regarding the mechanisms of infiltration. Questions persist about what determines how infiltration occurs and whether the process is governed by physics (flow dynamics) or chemistry (reactions at the triple line (LT: (contact line between the solid, liquid and gas phases)). The present work provides new strong/consistent proof that reactive infiltration is mainly controlled by chemical reaction.

Commercial ZnO was subjected to high-energy milling to introduce structural modifications, which can result in a different metal-support interaction. The milling time (0 to 960 min) and vial material and mill balls (WC and ZnO₂), were modified. The supports were characterized by XRD, Scherrer, S_BET and Raman Spectroscopy. With the increase in milling time, an increase in the accrued kinetic energy (E_cum) was observed. For the same E_cum, with ZrO₂, twice the area was obtained in just 6 min. Cu was deposited on both, the milled support (ZnO-z) and unmilled support (ZnO-0) in three compositions; x = 0.2, 0.5, and 1.0 (%wt). Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) measurements showed Cu compositions similar to the theoretical ones. XRD studies, Rietveld modelling and Raman Spectroscopy confirmed that Cu²⁺ cations could be localized, either by substituting the Zn²⁺ ions or interstitially in the network, depending on the metal content. The TPR profiles showed two types of copper species, which interact differently with the support. Likewise, the analysis of the XPS results showed that, with the increase in Cu content, for Cux/ZnO-0, there is a decrease in the metal-support interaction. However, for Cux/ZnO-z the interaction increases, which can be associated with the introduction of structural defects accompanied by superficial energy changes. For both systems, different catalytic behaviours are expected in the hydrogenolysis reaction of glycerol in liquid phase, regarding selectivity and stability, as a result of the metal-support interaction achieved.