High-quality boron carbide nanowires prepared by catalyst-free template growth method

Abstract

In this study, high-quality boron carbide nanowires (B4C-nanowires) were prepared via catalyst-free template growth (TG) method at low temperatures. SEM, XRD and TEM tests were carried out to explore the most suitable preparation parameters. Then, a ball milling process of 8 h and a growth temperature of 1050 °C were selected as the most suitable parameters to be applied to the boron substrate and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) template. The obtained B4C-nanowires possess a good crystallinity with an average diameter of 60 nm and lengths of 1–5 μm. In addition, the growth mechanism was studied as the diffusion and crystal reconstruction between the boron powders and the CNTs, while the ball-milling process improved the growth by dispersing CNTs and introducing more defects to the CNTs template. Finally, 5 vol% B4C-nanowires/Al composites were fabricated with the B4C-nanowires exhibited a high strengthening effect up to 215%. This work offered a new research idea for one-dimension ceramic materials and their application in composites.