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In this paper, Zr2SB ceramic with purity of 82.95 wt% (containing 8.96 wt% ZrB2 and 8.09 wt% zirconium) and high relative density (99.03%) was successfully synthesized from ZrH2, sublimated sulfur, and boron powders by spark plasma sintering (SPS) at 1300 ℃. The reaction process, microstructure, and physical and mechanical properties of Zr2SB ceramic were systematically studied. The results show that the optimum molar ratio to synthesize Zr2SB is n(ZrH2):n(S):n(B) = 1.4:1.6:0.7. The average grain size of Zr2SB is 12.46 μm in length and 5.12 μm in width, and the mean grain sizes of ZrB2 and zirconium impurities are about 300 nm. In terms of physical properties, the measured thermal expansion coefficient (TEC) is 7.64×10−6 K−1 from room temperature to 1200 ℃, and the thermal capacity and thermal conductivity at room temperature are 0.39 J·g−1·K−1 and 12.01 W∙m−1∙K−1, respectively. The room temperature electrical conductivity of Zr2SB ceramic is measured to be 1.74×106 Ω−1∙m−1. In terms of mechanical properties, Vickers hardness is 9.86±0.63 GPa under 200 N load, and the measured flexural strength, fracture toughness, and compressive strength are 269±12.7 MPa, 3.94±0.63 MPa·m1/2, and 2166.74±291.34 MPa, respectively.


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Synthesis and property characterization of ternary laminar Zr2SB ceramic

Show Author's information Qiqiang ZHANGaShuai FUbDetian WANbYiwang BAObQingguo FENGaSalvatore GRASSOaChunfeng HUa( )
Key Laboratory of Advanced Technologies of Materials, Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, China
State Key Laboratory of Green Building Materials, China Building Materials Academy, Beijing 100000, China

Abstract

In this paper, Zr2SB ceramic with purity of 82.95 wt% (containing 8.96 wt% ZrB2 and 8.09 wt% zirconium) and high relative density (99.03%) was successfully synthesized from ZrH2, sublimated sulfur, and boron powders by spark plasma sintering (SPS) at 1300 ℃. The reaction process, microstructure, and physical and mechanical properties of Zr2SB ceramic were systematically studied. The results show that the optimum molar ratio to synthesize Zr2SB is n(ZrH2):n(S):n(B) = 1.4:1.6:0.7. The average grain size of Zr2SB is 12.46 μm in length and 5.12 μm in width, and the mean grain sizes of ZrB2 and zirconium impurities are about 300 nm. In terms of physical properties, the measured thermal expansion coefficient (TEC) is 7.64×10−6 K−1 from room temperature to 1200 ℃, and the thermal capacity and thermal conductivity at room temperature are 0.39 J·g−1·K−1 and 12.01 W∙m−1∙K−1, respectively. The room temperature electrical conductivity of Zr2SB ceramic is measured to be 1.74×106 Ω−1∙m−1. In terms of mechanical properties, Vickers hardness is 9.86±0.63 GPa under 200 N load, and the measured flexural strength, fracture toughness, and compressive strength are 269±12.7 MPa, 3.94±0.63 MPa·m1/2, and 2166.74±291.34 MPa, respectively.

Keywords: microstructure, spark plasma sintering (SPS), properties, reaction path, Zr2SB

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Publication history

Received: 15 October 2021
Revised: 20 January 2022
Accepted: 25 January 2022
Published: 02 April 2022
Issue date: May 2022

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© The Author(s) 2022.

Acknowledgements

This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 52072311 and 52032011), Outstanding Young Scientific and Technical Talents in Sichuan Province (Grant No. 2019JDJQ0009), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant Nos. 2682020ZT61, 2682021GF013, and XJ2021KJZK042), the Opening Project of State Key Laboratory of Green Building Materials, and the Project of State Key Laboratory of Environment-Friendly Energy Materials (Grant No. 20kfhg17).

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