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Boron carbide and Tantalum boride composites were prepared by pressureless sintering of B4C with addition of TaC powder. The effect of TaC addition on the sinterability of boron carbide was studied. High densified ceramic with a relative density of 98.7% was obtained at sintering temperature of 2250°C. The composition and the microstructure of the dense composites are characterized by means of x‐ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy‐dispersive x‐ray spectroscopy (EDX). The studies show that the composites contain boron carbide, TaB2, and carbon phases with a homogeneous structure. In addition, the correlation between the composition and the electrical conductivity was investigated. The electrical conductivity of the composite increased with increasing addition of TaC, and a change in conduction behavior from semiconducting to metallic was observed. High hardness value of 28.49 ± 1.33 GPa was obtained by the sample with 30 wt% TaC addition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cubic boron nitride (c-BN) composites produced at high pressures and temperatures are widely used as cutting tool materials. The advent of new, effective pressure-assisted densification methods, such as spark plasma sintering (SPS), has stimulated attempts to produce these composites at low pressures. Under low-pressure conditions, however, transformation of c-BN to the soft hexagonal BN (h-BN) phase can occur, with a strong deterioration in hardness and wear. In the present work, the influence of secondary phases (B2O3, Si3N4, and oxide glasses) on the transformation of c-BN was studied in the temperature range between 1100 °C and 1575 °C. The different heat treated c-BN particles and c-BN composites were analyzed by SEM, X-ray diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy. The transformation mechanism was found to be kinetically controlled solution–diffusion–precipitation. Given a sufficiently low liquid phase viscosity, the transformation could be observed at temperatures as low as 1200 °C for the c-BN–glass composites. In contrast, no transformation was found at temperatures up to 1575 °C when no liquid oxide phase is present in the composite. The results were compared with previous studies concerning the c-BN stability and the c-BN phase diagram. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Superhard silicon carbide-bonded diamond materials were synthesized by liquid silicon infiltration of diamond-containing preforms. The properties of the materials were strongly influenced by the strength of the interfaces between the diamond and the silicon carbide. Interface formation was investigated through local analysis of the microstructure in the interface regions using field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) as well as X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results of these experiments revealed a pronounced orientation relationship between SiC and diamond at their interfaces and, as a result, strong bonding of the diamond particles to the ceramic matrix. There was also an orientation relationship between the nano-sized SiC grains, which were embedded in residual silicon near the diamond interfaces, and diamond. Additionally, the different morphologies and phenomena occurring in the microstructures of the diamond-SiC composites and their dependence on the infiltration temperature were studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Materials with enhanced wear resistance are of great interest for modern industry. The different ways of producing superhard ceramic materials are shortly reviewed. In detail, the preparation of diamond–silicon carbide composites by reactive infiltration of diamond preforms with liquid silicon at ambient pressure is investigated. In addition to homogeneous SiC/diamond materials with nearly 50vol.% of diamond layered composites were also prepared. The microstructures of the materials prepared under different infiltration conditions were analyzed using X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, electron back-scatter diffraction (EBSD) and Raman spectroscopy. The properties of the materials depend strongly on the formation of graphite interlayers at the boundary between SiC and diamond. Hardness of 47GPa was reached for materials where the formation of the interlayer was prevented. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: New electrically conductive ternary composites were developed by adding 8vol.% of ZrN or ZrB2 to a Si3N4–SiC matrix. During hot pressing, ZrB2 reacted with Si3N4 to form ZrSi2, ZrN, Si and BN whereas added ZrN did not undergo any reactions in the Si3N4–SiC–ZrN composite. The composites modified by ZrN or ZrB2 addition showed a lower resistivity (7×103 Ωcm and 3×10−1 Ωcm) compared to the matrix (3×104 Ωcm). Further studies on the grain size distribution and the volume ratio of conducting and non-conducting phases excluded a percolation network of ZrN and ZrSi2 grains. In fact, doping of SiC grains and modified grain boundaries as a consequence of the formation of liquid phases during sintering are suggested to be the reason for the significantly lower resistivity of materials containing ZrSi2. A decrease in the composite resistivity due to a subsequent heat treatment was obtained for all hot-pressed composites. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Hexagonal boron nitride/titanium diboride composites are widely used as evaporation boats for aluminium deposition to produce functional and decorative layers on different target materials. The lifetime of such a material is limited mainly by the interaction of the metal with the ceramic substrate, but the corrosion mechanism has still not yet been thoroughly investigated and understood. In this article the corrosion mechanism for the evaporation boats used was investigated using thermodynamic calculations, FESEM, EDX and XRD phase analysis. The analysis showed that hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), which is thermodynamically less stable than TiB2, is passivated during the application process through the formation of AlN surface layers, whereas the thermodynamically more stable TiB2 phase dissolves and Ti-rich components precipitate in cooler regions of the evaporation boats. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]