Preparation and microstructure of porous ZrB2 ceramics using reactive spark plasma sintering method

Abstract

Zirconium oxide (ZrO2) and boron carbide (B4C) were added to ZrB2 raw powders to prepare ZrB2 porous ceramics by reactive spark plasma sintering (RSPS). The reactions between ZrO2 and B4C which produce ZrB2 and gas (such as CO and B2O3) result in pore formation. X-Ray Diffraction results indicated that the products phase was ZrB2 and the reaction was completed after the RSPS process. The porosity could be controlled by changing the ratio of synthesized ZrB2 to raw ZrB2 powders. The porosity of porous ceramics with 20 wt% and 40 wt% synthsized ZrB2 are 0.185 and 0.222, respectivly. And dense ZrB2-SiC ceramic with a porosity of 0.057 was prepared under the same conditions for comparison. The pores were homogeneously distributed within the microstructure of the porous ceramics. The results indicate a promising method for preparing porous ZrB2-based ceramics.