Abstract
The spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique was found to effectively improve the mechanical properties of TiB 2 –SiC ceramic by forming a unique interlocking structure. This study investigated the phase transition process of the hexagonal micro-platelets TiB 2 powders with self-assembled structure during the molten-salt-mediated carbothermal reduction and its effect on promoting the mechanical properties of TiB 2 -based ceramics. It was found that the SPS approach ensured a highly densified TiB 2 –SiC ceramics with enhanced Vickers hardness of 21.0 ± 1.3 GPa and fracture resistance of 7.8 ± 0.3 MPa m 1/2 . The performance enhancement of the resultant TiB 2 –SiC composite was attributed to the interlocking structure from the original anisotropic TiB 2 powders, which could effectively absorb the energy and facilitate the crack deflection.
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