A new strategy for microstructural programming and toughening of α-SiC ceramics

IF 6 2区材料科学 Q1 MATERIALS SCIENCE, CERAMICS

Ceramics International Pub Date : 2026-10-01 Epub Date: 2026-07-15 DOI:10.1016/j.ceramint.2026.07.253

Jin-zhao Zhou, Xiao-tong Jia, Xing-wang Cheng, Zhao-hui Zhang, Qiang Wang, Wen-jun Li

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Achieving both high densification and intrinsic toughening remains a fundamental challenge for SiC and other strongly covalent ceramics. A new strategy is proposed to promote the densification of SiC ceramics via spark plasma sintering. The direct addition of uncrosslinked polysilazane (PSZ) into 6H-SiC powders introduces nitrogen (N) during pyrolysis, which may locally modify the chemical environment and may be associated with changes in the relative stability of α-SiC polytypes and the observed 6H-SiC→4H-SiC transformation. This transformation is accompanied by anisotropic grain growth and controllable microstructural evolution from equiaxed to columnar grains, resulting in the formation of interlocking structures. By adjusting the PSZ content, both fine equiaxed and interlocking microstructures exhibit high fracture toughness (∼6.9 MPa m^1/2), representing an improvement of approximately 72.5% compared with monolithic SiC (∼4 MPa m^1/2). This strategy provides an effective solid-state sintering route for microstructural design and mechanical enhancement in strongly covalent ceramics.

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α-SiC陶瓷组织规划与增韧的新策略

实现高致密化和本征增韧仍然是SiC和其他强共价陶瓷的基本挑战。提出了一种利用火花等离子烧结促进SiC陶瓷致密化的新策略。未交联的聚硅氮烷（PSZ）直接加入到6H-SiC粉末中，在热解过程中引入了氮(N)，这可能局部改变了化学环境，并可能与α-SiC多型相对稳定性的变化和观察到的6H-SiC→4H-SiC转变有关。这种转变伴随着各向异性的晶粒生长和由等轴晶向柱状晶的可控性微观组织演化，从而形成互锁结构。通过调整PSZ含量，精细等轴组织和互锁组织均表现出较高的断裂韧性（~ 6.9 MPa m1/2），与单片SiC（~ 4 MPa m1/2）相比，提高了约72.5%。该策略为强共价陶瓷的微观结构设计和力学增强提供了有效的固态烧结途径。

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来源期刊

Ceramics International 工程技术-材料科学：硅酸盐

CiteScore

9.40

自引率

15.40%

发文量

4558

审稿时长

25 days

期刊介绍： Ceramics International covers the science of advanced ceramic materials. The journal encourages contributions that demonstrate how an understanding of the basic chemical and physical phenomena may direct materials design and stimulate ideas for new or improved processing techniques, in order to obtain materials with desired structural features and properties. Ceramics International covers oxide and non-oxide ceramics, functional glasses, glass ceramics, amorphous inorganic non-metallic materials (and their combinations with metal and organic materials), in the form of particulates, dense or porous bodies, thin/thick films and laminated, graded and composite structures. Process related topics such as ceramic-ceramic joints or joining ceramics with dissimilar materials, as well as surface finishing and conditioning are also covered. Besides traditional processing techniques, manufacturing routes of interest include innovative procedures benefiting from externally applied stresses, electromagnetic fields and energetic beams, as well as top-down and self-assembly nanotechnology approaches. In addition, the journal welcomes submissions on bio-inspired and bio-enabled materials designs, experimentally validated multi scale modelling and simulation for materials design, and the use of the most advanced chemical and physical characterization techniques of structure, properties and behaviour. Technologically relevant low-dimensional systems are a particular focus of Ceramics International. These include 0, 1 and 2-D nanomaterials (also covering CNTs, graphene and related materials, and diamond-like carbons), their nanocomposites, as well as nano-hybrids and hierarchical multifunctional nanostructures that might integrate molecular, biological and electronic components.