Synthesis of Ti2SnC from Ti/Sn/TiC powder mixtures by pressureless sintering technique

Ti/Sn/TiC powder mixtures were first employed to synthesize Ti₂SnC powder by pressureless sintering in the temperature range of 950–1250 °C at vacuum atmosphere. Ti₂SnC began to form at 950 °C, its content increased with increasing temperature. High purity of Ti₂SnC was obtained by sintering the mixtures with deficient Sn and TiC at 1200 °C for 15 min. A reaction mechanism was proposed to explain the formation of Ti₂SnC. The Ti₂SnC powder was characterized by scan electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Using the above mixtures and process, the Ti₂SnC ceramic powder can be obtained on a larger scale.     

Fabrication and characterisation of AZ91/SiC composite by pressureless infiltration method

Abstract

Since the spontaneous infiltration of molten AZ91 Mg alloy into the powder bed containing SiC particles occurred at 700°C for 1 h under a nitrogen atmosphere, it was possible to fabricate Mg alloy composites reinforced with SiC particles. Since the fabrication conditions (e.g. temperature, time and atmosphere) of the composite are different from those of the other fabrication route, reaction products formed during the composite fabrication were investigated in detail using field emission scanning electron microscopy and high resolution transmission electron microscopy. From the analysis of reaction products, the authors can identify the formation of MgO, MgAl₂O₄, Al₁₂Mg₁₇ and an AlN phase containing magnesium.     

Achieving enhanced densification and superior ionic conductivity of garnet electrolytes via a co-doping strategy coupled with pressureless sintering

Lithium garnet oxides with 6.5 mol Li, such as Li_6.5La₃Zr_1.5(Ta/Nb)_0.5O₁₂, typically crystallise in cubic structure and exhibit excellent room-temperature ionic conductivity close to 1 mS cm^?1. However, it is challenging to densify garnet oxides. In this work, we investigated how the co-doping of tantalum (Ta) and niobium (Nb) affects the densification of pressureless sintered garnet electrolytes with compositions of Li_6.5La₃Zr_1.5Ta_(0.5?x)Nb_xO₁₂, where x = 0–0.5. The highest densification (94.5% of relative density) was achieved in Li_6.5La₃Zr_1.5Ta_0.1Nb_0.4O₁₂ (TN-LLZO) when it was sintered at 1150 °C for 6 h. This TN-LLZO garnet electrolyte delivers an ionic conductivity of 1.04 × 10^?3 S cm^?1 (at 22 °C) with a low activation energy of 0.41 eV. Our findings demonstrate that the content of dopants (Ta and Nb) plays a critical role in enhancing the sintering performance of garnet ceramics at ambient pressure.     

The effect of transition metal carbides MeC (Me = Ti,Zr, Nb,Ta, and W) on mechanical properties of B4C ceramics fabricated via pressureless sintering

In this study, boron carbide-metallic boride (B₄C-MeB_x, Me = Ti, Zr, Nb, Ta, or W) multiphase ceramics were fabricated via in situ pressureless sintering at 2250 °C for 1 h. The effects of transition metal carbides, namely, TiC, ZrC, NbC, TaC, and WC, on the phase composition, microstructure, and mechanical properties of the ceramics were investigated. The results showed that MeC could facilitate the sintering densification of B₄C by distributing second-phase particles uniformly throughout the B₄C. Additionally, the main phases observed were B₄C and (Me, W)B_x (Me = Ti, Zr, Nb, or Ta) due to the doping of a small amount of WC during the ball milling process. As a result, the mechanical properties of B₄C-MeB_x showed significant improvements when compared with those of single-phase B₄C ceramics. B₄C–NbB₂ ceramics were found to exhibit the best mechanical properties, with an elastic modulus of 393.0 GPa, a hardness of 28.7 GPa, a flexural strength of 368.0 MPa, and a fracture toughness of 6.94 MPa m^1/2.     

Fabrication of high thermal conductivity silicon nitride ceramics by pressureless sintering with MgO and Y2O3 as sintering additives

The fabrication of silicon nitride (Si₃N₄) ceramics with a high thermal conductivity was investigated by pressureless sintering at 1800 °C for 4 h in a nitrogen atmosphere with MgO and Y₂O₃ as sintering additives. The phase compositions, relative densities, microstructures, and thermal conductivities of the obtained Si₃N₄ ceramics were investigated systemically. It was found that at the optimal MgO/Y₂O₃ ratio of 3/6, the relative density and thermal conductivity of the obtained Si₃N₄ ceramic doped with 9 wt% sintering aids reached 98.2% and 71.51 W/(m·K), respectively. EDS element mapping showed the distributions of yttrium, magnesium and oxygen elements. The Si₃N₄ ceramics containing rod-like grains and grain boundaries were fabricated by focused ion beam technique. TEM observations revealed that magnesium existed as an amorphous phase and that yttrium produced a new secondary phase.     

Pressureless ultrafast sintering of near-net-shaped superhard isotropic B4C/rGO composites with Ti-Al additives

Superhard composites of B₄C reinforced with randomly-oriented reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanoplatelets are manufactured by a near-net-shape fabrication route based on three successive steps. Firstly, aqueous colloidal processing is used for the environmentally-friendly preparation of a semi-concentrated multi-component slurry (B₄C as main component, Ti-Al as sintering additive, and rGO as toughening reinforcement), whose suitability for wet shaping is demonstrated by rheological measurements. Secondly, slip casting is used to produce robust green parts with shapes on demand and microstructures free of macro- and micro-defects. And thirdly, pressureless spark-plasma sintering (PSPS) is used for the ultrafast and energy-efficient densification of the green parts with shape retention. Measurements of shrinkage and hardness, as well as the microstructural observations, are used to identify suitable PSPS temperatures leading to obtaining isotropic B₄C/rGO composites that are superhard and almost twice as tough as the monolithic B₄C ceramics.     

造孔剂含量对无压浸渗法制备SiC/Al复合材料性能的影响

采用无压浸渗法制备了SiC/Al复合材料,研究了造孔剂含量对SiC/Al复合材料性能的影响。实验结果表明:不同含量的造孔剂对残余气孔率的影响不同,随着造孔剂加入量的增加,残余气孔率先减小后增大,但试样抗弯强度呈先增加后减小。在SiC/Al复合材料中加入质量分数为20%的造孔剂时,SiC/Al复合材料的抗弯强度出现最大值,其残余气孔率达到最小值0.9%左右。     

Ultra-high temperature ceramics based on ZrB2 obtained by pressureless sintering with addition of Cr3C2, Mo2C,and WC

ZrB₂-MeC and ZrB₂-19 vol% SiC-Me_xC_y where Me=Cr, Mo, W were obtained by pressureless sintering. The capability to promote densification of ZrB₂ and ZrB₂-SiC matrices is the highest for WC and lowest for Cr₃C₂. The interaction between the components results in the formation of new phases, such as MeB (MoB, CrB, WB), a solid solution based on ZrC, and a solid solution based on ZrB₂. The addition of Cr₃C₂ decreases the mechanical properties. On the other hand, the addition of Mo₂C or WC to ZrB₂-19 vol% SiC composite ceramics leads increased mechanical properties. Long-term oxidation of ceramics at 1500 °C for 50 h showed that, in binary ZrB₂-Me_xC_y, a protective oxide scale does not form on the surface thus leading to the destruction of the composite. On the contrary, triple composites showed high oxidation resistance, due to the formation of dense oxide scale on the surface, with ZrB₂-SiC-Mo₂C displaying the best performance.     

A novel fabrication procedure for producing high strength hydroxyapatite ceramic scaffolds with high porosity

Hydroxyapatite (HA) scaffolds were fabricated using the space holder method with a pressureless sintering process in a systematically developed manner at different fabrication stages to increase the strength of the scaffold at high porosity. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) were used as binders and space holder agents, respectively. The physical properties of the HA scaffolds were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), linear shrinkage test, and porosity measurements. The mechanical properties of the HA scaffolds were analyzed using compressive strength measurements. The results revealed that the HA scaffold met the expected quality requirements with a compressive strength of 2.2 MPa at a porosity of 65.6% with pore sizes distributed in the range of 126–385 μm. The shrinkage of the scaffold diameter occurred by 20.27%, this diameter shrinkage predominantly to the shrinkage of the HA scaffold caused by sintering. Besides, suspect that a higher PMMA concentration causes pore size shrinkage upon sintering. The formation of pore interconnections was evidenced by SEM observations and the ‘translucent light method’ developed in this study. The results of the scaffold phase test using XRD showed that the final scaffold consisted only of the HA phase, as the PVA and PMMA phases burned out during the sintering process.     

电子封装SiCp/Al复合材料的制备与性能

研究了无压渗透法制备电子封装SiCp/Al复合材料过程中,烧结工艺对SiC预制件开孔率、抗压强度的影响,以及渗透工艺对Al液渗透形成复合材料的影响,并对所制备的复合材料热物理性能和表面涂覆进行了评价。结果表明,经1100℃分段烧结的SiC预制件开孔率、抗压强度较好;Al液浇铸温度、保温温度分别在750～850℃、800～900℃的范围时,SiC预制件的渗透效果较好;所制备的55%SiCp/Al复合材料相对密度为98.3%,热膨胀系数在（7.23～9.97）×10-6K^-1之间变化,热导率为146.5～172.3W/（m.K）,复合材料表面涂覆性能可行性好。