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Journal of Advanced Ceramics 2024, 13(4): 496-506 https://doi.org/10.26599/JAC.2024.9220872
Research Article | Open Access | Issue | Published: 30 April 2024

Boron nitride microribbons strengthened and toughened alumina composite ceramics with excellent mechanical, dielectric, and thermal conductivity properties

Show Author's Information Jilin Wang1,2,3,  Dongping Lu1,  Weiping Xuan1,  Yuchun Ji1,2,  Ruiqi Chen4,  Shaofei Li1,  Wenbiao Li1,  Wenzhuo Chen1,  Shilin Tang1,  Guoyuan Zheng1,2,  Fei Long1,2( )
Guangxi Key Laboratory of Optical and Electronic Materials and Devices, Collaborative Innovation Center for Exploration of Nonferrous Metal Deposits and Efficient Utilization of Resources, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004, China
Key Laboratory of New Processing Technology for Nonferrous Metals and Materials of Ministry of Education, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004, China
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon 999077, Hong Kong, China
Keywords:
thermal conductivity, spark plasma sintering (SPS), strengthening and toughening, boron nitride microribbons/aluminum oxide (BNMRs/Al2O3) composite ceramics, boron nitride microribbon (BNMR)
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Wang J, Lu D, Xuan W, et al. Boron nitride microribbons strengthened and toughened alumina composite ceramics with excellent mechanical, dielectric, and thermal conductivity properties. Journal of Advanced Ceramics, 2024, 13(4): 496-506. https://doi.org/10.26599/JAC.2024.9220872
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Abstract Full text Electronic supplementary material About this article

Aluminum oxide (Al2O3) ceramics have been widely utilized as circuit substrates owing to their exceptional performance. In this study, boron nitride microribbon (BNMR)/Al2O3 composite ceramics are prepared using spark plasma sintering (SPS). This study examines the effect of varying the amount of toughened phase BNMR on the density, mechanical properties, dielectric constant, and thermal conductivity of BNMR/Al2O3 composite ceramics while also exploring the mechanisms behind the toughening and increased thermal conductivity of the fabricated ceramics. The results showed that for a BNMR content of 5 wt%, BNMR/Al2O3 composite ceramics displayed more enhanced characteristics than pure Al2O3 ceramics. In particular, the relative density, hardness, fracture toughness, and bending strength were 99.95%±0.025%, 34.11±1.5 GPa, 5.42±0.21 MPa·m1/2, and 375±2.5 MPa, respectively. These values represent increases of 0.76%, 70%, 35%, and 25%, respectively, compared with the corresponding values for pure Al2O3 ceramics. Furthermore, during the SPS process, BNMRs are subjected to high temperatures and pressures, resulting in the bending and deformation of the Al2O3 matrix; this leads to the formation of special thermal pathways within it. The dielectric constant of the composite ceramics decreased by 25.6%, whereas the thermal conductivity increased by 45.6% compared with that of the pure Al2O3 ceramics. The results of this study provide valuable insights into ways of enhancing the performance of Al2O3-based ceramic substrates by incorporating novel BNMRs as a second phase. These improvements are significant for potential applications in circuit substrates and related fields that require high-performance materials with improved mechanical properties and thermal conductivities.


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Electronic supplementary material
About this article

Boron nitride microribbons strengthened and toughened alumina composite ceramics with excellent mechanical, dielectric, and thermal conductivity properties

Show Author's information Jilin Wang1,2,3, Dongping Lu1, Weiping Xuan1, Yuchun Ji1,2, Ruiqi Chen4, Shaofei Li1, Wenbiao Li1, Wenzhuo Chen1, Shilin Tang1, Guoyuan Zheng1,2, Fei Long1,2( )
Guangxi Key Laboratory of Optical and Electronic Materials and Devices, Collaborative Innovation Center for Exploration of Nonferrous Metal Deposits and Efficient Utilization of Resources, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004, China
Key Laboratory of New Processing Technology for Nonferrous Metals and Materials of Ministry of Education, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004, China
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon 999077, Hong Kong, China

Abstract

Aluminum oxide (Al2O3) ceramics have been widely utilized as circuit substrates owing to their exceptional performance. In this study, boron nitride microribbon (BNMR)/Al2O3 composite ceramics are prepared using spark plasma sintering (SPS). This study examines the effect of varying the amount of toughened phase BNMR on the density, mechanical properties, dielectric constant, and thermal conductivity of BNMR/Al2O3 composite ceramics while also exploring the mechanisms behind the toughening and increased thermal conductivity of the fabricated ceramics. The results showed that for a BNMR content of 5 wt%, BNMR/Al2O3 composite ceramics displayed more enhanced characteristics than pure Al2O3 ceramics. In particular, the relative density, hardness, fracture toughness, and bending strength were 99.95%±0.025%, 34.11±1.5 GPa, 5.42±0.21 MPa·m1/2, and 375±2.5 MPa, respectively. These values represent increases of 0.76%, 70%, 35%, and 25%, respectively, compared with the corresponding values for pure Al2O3 ceramics. Furthermore, during the SPS process, BNMRs are subjected to high temperatures and pressures, resulting in the bending and deformation of the Al2O3 matrix; this leads to the formation of special thermal pathways within it. The dielectric constant of the composite ceramics decreased by 25.6%, whereas the thermal conductivity increased by 45.6% compared with that of the pure Al2O3 ceramics. The results of this study provide valuable insights into ways of enhancing the performance of Al2O3-based ceramic substrates by incorporating novel BNMRs as a second phase. These improvements are significant for potential applications in circuit substrates and related fields that require high-performance materials with improved mechanical properties and thermal conductivities.

Keywords: thermal conductivity, spark plasma sintering (SPS), strengthening and toughening, boron nitride microribbons/aluminum oxide (BNMRs/Al2O3) composite ceramics, boron nitride microribbon (BNMR)

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Received: 01 January 2024
Revised: 02 March 2024
Accepted: 02 March 2024
Published: 30 April 2024
Issue date: April 2024

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© The Author(s) 2024.

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the financial support from National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 52262010), the Guangxi Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 2023GXNSFAA026384), and the Guilin Scientific Research and Technology Development Program (No. 2020011203-3).

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This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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