Effect of nano- and micro-sized Si3N4 powder on phase formation, microstructure and properties of β′-SiAlON prepared by spark plasma sintering

Abdulhakim Bake, Abbas Saeed Hakeem*, Bilal Anjum Ahmed, Anwar Ul-Hamid, Luai M. Alhems, Muhammad Ali Ehsan, Mjed Hashem, M. T. Tanvir, Stuart Hampshire

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

15 Scopus citations

Abstract

The phase formation behavior of β′-SiAlON with the general formula Si6-zAlzOzN8-z was studied comprehensively for z values from 1 to 3 using spark plasma sintering (SPS) as the consolidation technique at synthesis temperatures from 1400 to 1700 °C. The samples were prepared close to the β′-SiAlON composition line: Si3N4 − 4/3(AlN·Al2O3) in the phase diagram using (A) nano-sized amorphous Si3N4 and (B) micro-sized β-Si3N4 precursors. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) was used for microstructural analysis. Most compositions reached almost full density at all SPS temperatures. Compared with the micro-sized β-Si3N4 precursor, the nano-sized amorphous Si3N4 precursor accelerated the reaction kinetics, promoting the formation of dense β′-SiAlON + O′-SiAlON composites after SPS at synthesis temperatures of 1400–1500 °C. This resulted in very high values of Vickers hardness (Hv10) = 18.2–19.2 GPa for the z = 1 composition related to the hardness of the O′-SiAlON component phase. In general, for samples synthesized from nano-sized amorphous Si3N4, which were almost fully dense, containing >95% β′-SiAlON, the hardness values were 13.4–13.8 GPa with a fracture toughness of 3.5–4.6 MPa m1/2. For equivalent samples synthesized from micro-sized β-Si3N4, hardness was in the range 13.9–14.4 GPa with a fracture toughness of 4.3–4.5 MPa.m1/2. These values are comparable with fully dense β′-SiAlONs, usually containing intergranular glass phase which has been sintered by HIP and other processes at much higher temperatures for longer times.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1916-1925
Number of pages10
JournalCeramics International
Volume48
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 15 Jan 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This research was funded by, Deanship of Scientific Research (DSR) at King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM) through project No. DF191020 .

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021

Keywords

  • Fracture toughness
  • Hardness
  • Microstructural development
  • Nano-sized precursor
  • Phase formation
  • Silicon nitride
  • Spark plasma sintering
  • β'-SiAlON

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
  • Ceramics and Composites
  • Process Chemistry and Technology
  • Surfaces, Coatings and Films
  • Materials Chemistry

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