Effect of α-Si3N4 Addition on Sintering of α-Sialon Powder via Carbonthermal Reduction Nitridation of Boron-rich Slag-based Mixture

Abstract

With boron-rich slag, silica fume, bauxite chalmette, carbon black and α-Si3N4 as starting materials, α-Sialon powders were prepared by carbothermal reduction-nitridation(CRN). Different contents of α-Si3N4 addition were added to investigate the α-Sialon formation as a function of α-Si3N4 addition from boron rich slag based mixture fired at 1480 °C for 8 h under N2 flowing of 0.4 L/min. Phase assembly, microstructure of reaction products were determined by X-ray Diffraction and Scanning Electron Microscope. The results showed that the main phases of the samples were a-Sialon, h-BN, AlN and small quantity of SiC. With the increasing amount of the α-Si3N4 addition, the h-BN content remained in a constant and AlN content was running down steadily, while the α-Sialon content increased gradually. The aspect ratio and the amount of elongated α-Sialon grains could be tailored by using different amounts of the α-Si3N4 addition.