The effect of hBN additive on the microstructure and mechanical properties of sialon ceramics

IF 4.6 2区材料科学 Q2 MATERIALS SCIENCE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

International Journal of Refractory Metals & Hard Materials Pub Date : 2025-09-15 DOI:10.1016/j.ijrmhm.2025.107450

Daiheng Li , Ping Zhang , Ziyao Wei , Xiaoyu Xu , Jie Xu , Feng Gao

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

While ceramic cutting tools currently offer significant advantages, the complex microstructure and inherent grain growth mechanism of ceramic materials severely limits their application. In this work, Y_m/3Si_12-(m+n)Al_m+nO_nN_16-n (Sialon, m = 1.2, n = 1.0) ceramics with hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) additive were fabricated by spark plasma sintering. The effect of the particle size and the content of hBN on the microstructure, the hardness, and the fracture toughness of Sialon ceramics have been investigated. The results indicate that the properties of hBN/Sialon materials initially improve followed by a decline as the hBN particle size increases, with the optimal performance observed at a medium particle size (4–6 μm). hBN particulates within Sialon grains, intergranular Y-rich glassy phases and fibrous carbon-rich Sialon-C whiskers were observed. As the hBN doping content increased, both the hardness and fracture toughness of the material decreased, which is attributed to weak interfacial cracking, crack coalescence, and stress-concentration-induced whisker failure by the complex microstructure. The best-performing sample was doped with 2 wt% of 4–6 μm hBN, achieving a hardness of 25.1 GPa and a fracture toughness of 5.0 MPa·m^1/2.

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hBN添加剂对sialon陶瓷显微组织和力学性能的影响

虽然陶瓷刀具目前具有显著的优势，但陶瓷材料复杂的微观结构和固有的晶粒生长机制严重限制了其应用。采用火花等离子烧结法制备了含有六方氮化硼（hBN）添加剂的Ym/3Si12-(m+n)Alm+nOnN16-n （Sialon, m = 1.2, n = 1.0）陶瓷。研究了hBN的粒度和含量对Sialon陶瓷显微组织、硬度和断裂韧性的影响。结果表明：随着hBN粒径的增大，hBN/Sialon材料的性能先提高后下降，其中中等粒径（4 ~ 6 μm）时性能最佳；在Sialon晶粒内观察到hBN颗粒、晶间富y玻璃相和纤维状富碳Sialon- c晶须。随着hBN掺杂量的增加，材料的硬度和断裂韧性均下降，这是由于复杂微观结构导致的弱界面开裂、裂纹合并和应力集中引起的晶须破坏。性能最好的样品中掺杂2 wt%的4-6 μm hBN，其硬度为25.1 GPa，断裂韧性为5.0 MPa·m1/2。

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来源期刊

$International Journal of Refractory Metals & Hard Materials$

International Journal of Refractory Metals & Hard Materials 工程技术-材料科学：综合

CiteScore

7.00

自引率

13.90%

发文量

236

审稿时长

35 days

期刊介绍： The International Journal of Refractory Metals and Hard Materials (IJRMHM) publishes original research articles concerned with all aspects of refractory metals and hard materials. Refractory metals are defined as metals with melting points higher than 1800 °C. These are tungsten, molybdenum, chromium, tantalum, niobium, hafnium, and rhenium, as well as many compounds and alloys based thereupon. Hard materials that are included in the scope of this journal are defined as materials with hardness values higher than 1000 kg/mm2, primarily intended for applications as manufacturing tools or wear resistant components in mechanical systems. Thus they encompass carbides, nitrides and borides of metals, and related compounds. A special focus of this journal is put on the family of hardmetals, which is also known as cemented tungsten carbide, and cermets which are based on titanium carbide and carbonitrides with or without a metal binder. Ceramics and superhard materials including diamond and cubic boron nitride may also be accepted provided the subject material is presented as hard materials as defined above.