LIANG Baoyan 1, 2, ZHANG Yanli 1, ZHANG Wangxi 1, 2, FENG Yanxiang 1, 2
(1. Materials and Chemical Engineering School, Zhongyuan University of Technology, Zhengzhou 450007, Henan, China; 2. National
and Local Joint Laboratory of Engineering of Diamond Technology, Zhengzhou 451191, Henan, China)
Abstract: Different carbide materials were synthesized by spark plasma sintering (SPS) using Ti, Si and B with carbon nanotubes. The phase composition and microstructure of every sample were studied. The results show that carbide materials may be rapidly synthesized by spark plasma sintering. Different amounts of carbon nanotube agglomeration zones were formed in every sample. More carbon nanotubes remained in the TiC sample. Small amounts of carbon nanotubes were residues in the B4C and SiC samples. The B4C and SiC grains developed very well. Their grain sizes were bigger. Sintered at 1500 ℃, the average size of B4C was 75 μm. A large amount of SiC had an average size of 50 μm. Additionally, Ni-Si eutectic liquid phase was formed on the surface of SiC grains in the Si-carbon nanotube system, promoting its reaction synthesis and grain development.
Key words: carbon nanotube; spark plasma sintering; carbide