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The development of novel cermet composites based on porous ceramics with high porosity, interconnected pore structure and good mechanical property has attracted considerable attention in engineering application. In this work, water-based freeze casting process was employed to fabricate ZrB2-SiC porous ceramic with aligned lamellar-channels structure using PAA-NH4 as the dispersant. The results revealed that the well-dispersed suspension with best rheological behavior was obtained using 1.0 wt% PAA-NH4 at pH 9. The crack-free porous ceramic exhibited small volume shrinkage ranging from 2.59 % to 1.87 %. By varying the solid loading, the fabricated samples displayed a tailored porosity ranging from 76.12% to 59.37% and an excellent compressive strength of 7 MPa to 78 MPa. After oxidation, the samples displayed a decreased porosity and an increased compressive strength. The ZrB2­SiC porous ceramic fabricated in this work will be a promising candidate for the framework of cermet composite.

In this work, a ZrB2-SiC-Ta4HfC5/Ta4HfC5 oxidation-resistant dual-layer coating was fabricated to improve the oxidation resistance of carbon–carbon (C/C) composites. The coating was prepared by pack cementation combined with the slurry paste method. Spark plasma sintering was used in the procedure. The as-prepared dual-layer coating was approximately 110 μm, and no distinct interface was observed between the coating and the matrix. The isothermal oxidation test results showed that the dual coating effectively prevented C/C composites from oxidizing. The weight loss of the coated samples was only 3.3 and 9.5% after oxidation at 1773 K for 20 h and ten thermal shock cycles between 1773 K and room temperature in air, respectively. The pores and microcracks were the main reason for the failure of the coating.

To improve the thermal cycling resistance of ZrB 2 –SiC/SiC dual layer coating, MgO was added into the pack powders used to prepare ZrB 2 –SiC outer coating by pack cementation. The composition, microstructure and thermal cycling resistance of these coatings were studied. The results show that as-received coatings were mainly composed of SiC, ZrB 2 and Si. ZrB 2 –SiC outer coating contained 5 wt%, 7 wt%, 9 wt% MgO additive showed better thermal cycling resistance with 97.6%, 98.8% and 96.5% weight retention after 15 thermal shock cycles between 1500 °C and room temperature.

Acidic silica sol was used as precursor to prepare SiO2 aerogels using the atmospheric pressure drying technology. The influence of pH, water bath temperature and concentrations of silica sol on the structure parameters and morphology were systematically studied. SiO2 aerogel prepared with the sol concentration of 20% possessed uniform structure and the best structure parameters. Water bath temperature exhibited an obvious effect on morphology, specific surface area and porosity. Moreover, the optimal SiO2 aerogel showed a good heat resistance up to 700 °C. A lower thermal conductivity was 0.019 W/m · K at room temperature (25 °C) and 0.044 W/m · K at 600 °C.

ZrB2 grains were prepared on graphite by chemical vapor deposition using a gas mixture of ZrCl4, BCl3, H2 and Ar at 1150 °C. The microstructure and phase composition of the coating were investigated by SEM, XRD, XPS and TEM. The results indicated that ZrB2 grains were deposited and grown directly by a vapor–solid growth mechanism on graphite without intermediate phase. Granulated ZrB2 grains were composed by many sub–grains with different crystal orientation. The rod–like or pagoda–like ZrB2 grains with lamellar structures were grew on the granulated ZrB2 particles and composed of two parts: the internal part with axial stacking faults and annular part with radial stacking faults.

In order to further improve the oxidation protective ability of (ZrB 2 –SiC)/SiC coated graphite, ferrocene was introduced into the outer ZrB 2 –SiC coatings during pack cementation process. The ferrocene addition increased the porosity of the outer ZrB 2 –SiC coatings, which was favorable to thermal shock resistance of (ZrB 2 –SiC)/SiC coated specimens. The ZrB 2 –SiC coating with 3 wt% ferrocene (ZS50-3f) has optimum oxidation protective ability. Its weight retention after 15 thermal shock cycles between 1500 °C and room temperature was 96. 2%. The weight loss of ZS50-3f was only 0.2% after 19 h oxidation at 1500 °C.

The characterization of interfaces in woven ceramic matrix composites is one of the most challenging problems in composite application. In this investigation, a new model material consisting of the chemical vapor infiltration unidirectional C/SiC composites with PyC fiber coating were prepared and evaluated to predict the interfacial mechanic properties of woven composites. Single fiber push-out/push-back tests with the Berkovich indenter were conducted on the thin sliced specimens using nano-indentation technique. To give a detailed illustration of the interfacial crack propagation and failure mechanism, each sector during the push-out process was analyzed at length. The test results show that there is no detectable difference between testing a fiber in a direct vicinity to an already tested fiber and testing a fiber in vicinity to not-pushed fibers. Moreover, the interface debonding and fiber sliding mainly occur at the PyC coating, and both the fiber and surrounding matrix have no plastic deformation throughout the process. Obtained from the load-displacement curve, the interfacial debonding strength (IDS) and friction stress (IFS) amount to, respectively, 35 ± 5 MPa and 10 ± 1 MPa. Based on the findings, the interfacial properties with PyC fiber coating can be predicted. Furthermore, it is expected to provide a useful guideline for the design, evaluation and optimal application of CVI-C/SiC.

Inorganic coating was fabricated on the surface of the porous Si3N4 ceramic by polymer derived (PD) and spraying technology, via using vinyl-polysilazane (PSN-1) as a preceramic polymer and Si3N4 and lithium aluminosilicate (LAS) powders as fillers. The phase and microstructure of the coatings were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. The effect of the coatings on mechanical property and humidity resistance of the porous Si3N4 ceramic was investigated. The experimental results showed that we successfully fabricated the uniform and dense coating which preferably combined with the substrate upon the addition of fillers. The bending strength of the porous Si3N4 ceramic sprayed the coating increased by more than 18%, and the surface hardness increased by 1.7 times. The apparent porosity of the materials reduced by an average of 97.7%, and water absorption was below 0.5%. Therefore, the prepared coating with preferable density had an obviously moisture-proof and enhanced effect on the porous Si3N4 ceramic.

A spinnable zirconium solution was obtained by heating the aqueous solution that contains ZrOCl2.8H2O, Y(NO3)3.6H2O, H2O2 and CH3COOH under a reduced pressure in a rotary evaporator. The preparation of the sol, possible structure of PZA, idealized formation process of PZA, firing schedule of the gel fiber, phase transformation of ZrO2 and characterization of the fibers were discussed in this article. The green fibers and those sintered at different temperatures were characterized by thermogravimetry-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscopic (SEM) techniques. After calcined at 1200oC, zirconia fibers with cubic phase were obtained by the addition of 6 mol% Y2O3. The diameters of the zirconium oxide fiber were 5-7 µm, and the grain size was about 20-30 nm. The activation energy for grain growth of zirconia fiber was estimated to be 24.18 kJ.mol–1.

The functional acrylate monomer (FAM) containing an amino group was synthesized by using glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) and ammonia. FAM was then copolymerized with Vinyl acetate and other acrylate mo...

La 2 NiO 4 compounds were prepared by a modified sol–gel auto-combustion method, which is a low-temperature combustion synthesis procedure using microwave-assisted sol–gel as precursors. The high-temperature transport properties of the samples were investigated. The band structure, total density of states (DOS), and partial density of states (PDOS) of low-temperature orthorhombic (Bmab) phase and high-temperature tetragonal (I4 / mmm) phase for La 2 NiO 4 were calculated in order to study the transport properties of the as-obtained samples.