Abstract: A hypersonic refractory material, including a refractory leading edge portion for a hypersonic vehicle and a high emissivity oxide coating adhered to the refractory leading edge portion. The high emissivity oxide coating is ZrB2 doped with a cation dopant material selected from the group including Sm, Tm, and mixtures thereof. The cation dopant material is present in a concentration of between 3 mole percent and 8 mole percent.

Abstract: A hypersonic refractory material, including a refractory leading edge portion for a hypersonic vehicle and a high emissivity oxide coating adhered to the refractory leading edge portion. The high emissivity oxide coating is selected from the group including Sm2O3, Tm2O3, Yb2O3, Gd2O3, and mixtures thereof, and the refractory leading edge portion includes up to about 15 mole percent of a cation dopant selected from the group including Sm2O3, Tm2O3, Yb2O3, Gd2O3, and mixtures thereof, with the remainder being selected from the group including ZrB2, HfB2, and mixtures thereof. The high emissivity coating is formed by oxidation of cation dopant at elevated temperatures.