Abstract
B4C-SiC-TiB2 ceramics were prepared by in situ reactive hot-pressing sintering with TiSi2 as an additive. The reaction pathways of TiSi2 and B4C were investigated. The sintering was found to be a multi-step process. The reaction started at approximately 1 000 °C, and TiB2 was formed first. Part of Si and C started to react at 1 300 °C, and the unreacted Si melted at 1 400 °C to form a liquid phase. TiSi2 predominantly affected the intermediate sintering process of B4C and increased the sintering rate. Due to the unique reaction process of TiSi2 and B4C, a large number of aggregates composed of SiC and TiB2 were generated. The results showed that composite ceramics with the optimal flexural strength of 807 MPa, fracture toughness of 3.2 MPa·m1/2, and hardness of 32 GPa, were obtained when the TiSi2 content was 10 wt%.
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Funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.52002299)
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Xia, T., Tu, X., Zhang, F. et al. In Situ Reaction Strengthening and Toughening of B4C/TiSi2 Ceramics. J. Wuhan Univ. Technol.-Mat. Sci. Edit. 38, 12–19 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11595-023-2662-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11595-023-2662-3