Microstructural evolution of TiB2-SiC composites empowered with Si3N4, BN or TiN: A comparative study
Three near fully dense TiB2-SiC composites were achieved, benefiting from the coaddition of SiC and a nitride compound (Si3N4, h-BN or TiN). All composites were produced by spark plasma sintering (SPS) at 1900 °C. The in-situ formed TiC phase was identified in the all three composites due to occurring a chemical reaction between TiO2 oxide and SiC reinforcement. Although h-BN additive remained intact in the final microstructure of TiB2-SiC composites, Si3N4 additive participated in some chemical interaction with B2O3 and TiO2 surface contaminations, leading to the in-situ generation of h-BN, TiB2, and SiO2 phases. In contrast, TiN additive reacted with the in-situ formed TiC, producing the TiCxN1-x compound during the sintering process. Liquid phase sintering was also identified as one of the involved mechanisms, enhancing the sinterability of the prepared composites.

» Author: Van-Huy Nguyen, Seyed Ali Delbari, Abbas Sabahi Namini, Zohre Ahmadi, Quyet Van Le, Mohammadreza Shokouhimehr, Mehdi Shahedi Asl, Mohsen Mohammadi
This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement Nº 768737