Reinforcement of boron carbide (B4C) ceramics with boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs)

IF 5.5 2区材料科学 Q1 MATERIALS SCIENCE, CHARACTERIZATION & TESTING

Materials Characterization Pub Date : 2026-04-01 Epub Date: 2026-02-23 DOI:10.1016/j.matchar.2026.116195

Heng Wang , Yi Zeng , Tianbin Zhu , Yibiao Xu , Lixia Fan , Yawei Li , Yajie Dai , Fan Zhang

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Abstract

Boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) were incorporated as a reinforcing additive into boron carbide (B₄C) ceramic matrices and consolidated via spark plasma sintering (SPS) at 1650–1800 °C. The resulting B₄C-BNNTs ceramic composites achieved a high relative density of 99.71 ± 0.12%, along with an optimal flexural strength of 702 ± 16 MPa, fracture toughness of 4.98 ± 0.13 MPa·m^1/2, and Vickers hardness of 35.3 ± 0.13 GPa—representing improvements of 226 MPa (47.47%), 1.21 MPa·m^1/2 (32.10%), and 2.0 GPa (6.01%) over monolithic B₄C, respectively. The enhanced mechanical performance is attributed to a combination of reinforcement mechanisms: (i) BNNTs-induced promotion of B₄C grain rearrangement, facilitated by the reduced densification temperature; (ii) in-situ formation of ZrB₂ and semi-coherent ZrB₂/B₄C interfaces; and (iii) crack bridging, deflection, and propagation resistance provided by BN and ZrB₂. This study elucidates the underlying reinforcement mechanisms in BNNTs-reinforced B₄C composites and provides a theoretical foundation for utilizing BN-based nanostructures to enhance the mechanical properties of B₄C ceramics.

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氮化硼纳米管增强碳化硼（B4C）陶瓷

将氮化硼纳米管（BNNTs）作为增强剂掺入碳化硼（B4C）陶瓷基体中，并在1650 ~ 1800℃下进行放电等离子烧结（SPS）固化。B4C- bnnts陶瓷复合材料的相对密度为99.71±0.12%，抗折强度为702±16 MPa，断裂韧性为4.98±0.13 MPa·m1/2，维氏硬度为35.3±0.13 GPa，比单片B4C分别提高了226 MPa（47.47%）、1.21 MPa·m1/2（32.10%）和2.0 GPa（6.01%）。力学性能的增强是由以下强化机制共同作用的结果：(1)bnnts诱导B4C晶粒重排，降低致密化温度；（ii）原位形成ZrB2和半相干ZrB2/B4C界面；（iii） BN和ZrB2提供的抗裂纹桥接、抗挠曲和抗扩展性能。本研究阐明了bnnt增强B4C复合材料的增强机理，为利用bnnt基纳米结构增强B4C陶瓷的力学性能提供了理论基础。

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来源期刊

Materials Characterization 工程技术-材料科学：表征与测试

CiteScore

7.60

自引率

8.50%

发文量

746

审稿时长

36 days

期刊介绍： Materials Characterization features original articles and state-of-the-art reviews on theoretical and practical aspects of the structure and behaviour of materials. The Journal focuses on all characterization techniques, including all forms of microscopy (light, electron, acoustic, etc.,) and analysis (especially microanalysis and surface analytical techniques). Developments in both this wide range of techniques and their application to the quantification of the microstructure of materials are essential facets of the Journal. The Journal provides the Materials Scientist/Engineer with up-to-date information on many types of materials with an underlying theme of explaining the behavior of materials using novel approaches. Materials covered by the journal include: Metals & Alloys Ceramics Nanomaterials Biomedical materials Optical materials Composites Natural Materials.