Preparation and microstructure of porous ZrB sub(2) ceramics using reactive spark plasma sintering method

• Published in: Journal of Wuhan University of Technology. Materials science edition Vol. 30; no. 3; pp. 512 - 515
• Main Authors: Yuan, Huiping, Li, Junguo, Shen, Qiang, Zhang, Lianmeng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.06.2015
• Subjects: Carbon monoxide; Ceramics; Diffraction; Microstructure; Porosity; Raw; Spark plasma sintering; Zirconium dioxide
• ISSN: 1000-2413; 1993-0437
• DOI: 10.1007/s11595-015-1181-y

Zirconium oxide (ZrO sub(2)) and boron carbide (B sub(4)C) were added to ZrB sub(2) raw powders to prepare ZrB sub(2) porous ceramics by reactive spark plasma sintering (RSPS). The reactions between ZrO sub(2) and B sub(4)C which produce ZrB sub(2) and gas (such as CO and B sub(2)O sub(3)) result in pore formation. X-Ray Diffraction results indicated that the products phase was ZrB sub(2) and the reaction was completed after the RSPS process. The porosity could be controlled by changing the ratio of synthesized ZrB sub(2) to raw ZrB sub(2) powders. The porosity of porous ceramics with 20 wt% and 40 wt% synthsized ZrB sub(2) are 0.185 and 0.222, respectivly. And dense ZrB sub(2)-SiC ceramic with a porosity of 0.057 was prepared under the same conditions for comparison. The pores were homogeneously distributed within the microstructure of the porous ceramics. The results indicate a promising method for preparing porous ZrB sub(2)-based ceramics.