Development of calcium stabilized nitrogen rich α-sialon ceramics along the Si3N4:1/2Ca3N2:3AlN line using spark plasma sintering

B. A. AHMED; T. LAOUI; A. S. HAKEEM

doi:10.1007/s40145-020-0400-y

Journal of Advanced Ceramics 2020, 9(5): 606-616 https://doi.org/10.1007/s40145-020-0400-y

Research Article |

Open Access | Issue | Published: 10 October 2020

Development of calcium stabilized nitrogen rich α-sialon ceramics along the Si₃N₄:1/2Ca₃N₂:3AlN line using spark plasma sintering

Show Author's Information Hide Author's Information B. A. AHMED^{^a}, T. LAOUI^{^b^,^c}(

), A. S. HAKEEM^{^d}(

)

aDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, College of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan

bDepartment of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, University of Sharjah, Sharjah 27272, United Arab Emitates

cCenter for Advanced Materials Research, Research Institute of Sciences and Engineering, University of Sharjah, Sharjah 27272, United Arab Emitates

dCenter of Excellence in Nanotechnology, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia

Keywords:

spark plasma sintering (SPS), nitrogen rich sialon ceramics, α-sialon, calcium sialons, liquid phase sintering

Cite this article:

AHMED BA, LAOUI T, HAKEEM AS. Development of calcium stabilized nitrogen rich α-sialon ceramics along the Si₃N₄:1/2Ca₃N₂:3AlN line using spark plasma sintering. Journal of Advanced Ceramics, 2020, 9(5): 606-616. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40145-020-0400-y

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Abstract

Calcium stabilized nitrogen rich sialon ceramics having a general formula of Ca_xSi_12-2xAl_2xN₁₆ with x value (x is the solubility of cation Ca in α-sialon structure) in the range of 0.2-2.2 for compositions lying along the Si₃N₄:1/2Ca₃N₂:3AlN line were synthesized using nano/submicron size starting powder precursors and spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique. The development of calcium stabilized nitrogen rich sialon ceramics at a significantly low sintering temperature of 1500 ℃ (typically reported a temperature of 1700 ℃ or greater) remains to be the highlight of the present study. The SPS processed sialons were characterized for their microstructure, phase and compositional analysis, and physical and mechanical properties. Furthermore, a correlation was developed between the lattice parameters and the content (x) of the alkaline metal cation in the α-sialon phase. Well-densified single-phase nitrogen rich α-sialon ceramics were achieved in the range of 0.53(3) ≤ x ≤ 1.27(3). A nitrogen rich α-sialon sample possessing a maximum hardness of 22.4 GPa and fracture toughness of 6.1 MPa·m^1/2 was developed.

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Development of calcium stabilized nitrogen rich α-sialon ceramics along the Si₃N₄:1/2Ca₃N₂:3AlN line using spark plasma sintering

Show Author's information Hide Author's Information B. A. AHMED^{^a}, T. LAOUI^{^b^,^c}(

), A. S. HAKEEM^{^d}(

)

aDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, College of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan

bDepartment of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, University of Sharjah, Sharjah 27272, United Arab Emitates

cCenter for Advanced Materials Research, Research Institute of Sciences and Engineering, University of Sharjah, Sharjah 27272, United Arab Emitates

dCenter of Excellence in Nanotechnology, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Keywords: spark plasma sintering (SPS), nitrogen rich sialon ceramics, α-sialon, calcium sialons, liquid phase sintering

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Publication history

Received: 05 April 2020

Revised: 09 June 2020

Accepted: 23 June 2020

Published: 10 October 2020

Issue date: October 2020

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the support provided by both King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Saudi Arabia, and the University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.

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