Synthesis of porous Si3N4/SiC ceramics with rapid nitridation of silicon

Abstract Porous Si3N4/SiC ceramics were prepared with Si and SiC as raw materials, Y2O3 as sintering additive and ZrO2 as nitrided catalyst through a rapid nitration process. The nitriding rate as a function of temperature and duration was investigated. The porous Si3N4/SiC ceramics with 8 wt% monoclinic ZrO2 addition that was nitrided at 1400 °C for 2 h exhibited the highest nitridation degree of 95%. The experimental results also demonstrated that the reciprocal formation of ZrO2 and ZrN can effectively enhance the level of nitridation by suppressing the melting of silicon in micro-regions. The effects of nitriding time on the mechanical properties of the specimens with ZrO2 as a catalyst was also studied. After nitrided at 1400 °C for various durations from 2 to 8 h, the porous Si3N4/SiC ceramics with the properties of a porosity over 39.8%, a flexural strength over 88.9 MPa and a linear shrinkage lower than 0.6% were achieved. The systematic investigation reveals the catalytic mechanism of ZrO2 in the synthesis of Si3N4/SiC ceramics.