Integrated high strength and high toughness induced by elongated TiB <sub>2</sub> grains in reactive sintered TiB <sub>2</sub> –TiC–SiC ceramics
Jianhua Zhu, Xiaojun Yue, Dong Wang, Xing Jin, Songlin Ran
Abstract
Abstract Although the addition of other phases into TiB 2 matrix to form ceramic composites has been widely used to improve the mechanical properties of monolithic TiB 2 ceramics, it is still difficult to greatly enhance the flexural strength and fracture toughness simultaneously. In this work, TiB 2 –TiC–SiC composites were successfully prepared by reactive spark plasma sintering of Ti 3 SiC 2 –B 4 C–Ti powder mixtures. During the sintering process, TiB 2 grains grew into an elongated morphology, endowing the composites with integrated high strength and high toughness. The growth mechanism of TiB 2 grains was attributed to the evaporation–condensation kinetics induced by the presence of B 2 O 3 . These findings can accelerate the exploration of ceramic composites with excellent comprehensive properties.