Formation of tough interlocking microstructures in silicon nitride ceramics by dynamic ripening

Zhijian Shen (), Zhe Zhao, Hong Peng and Mats Nygren
Additional contact information
Zhijian Shen: Stockholm University
Zhe Zhao: Stockholm University
Hong Peng: Stockholm University
Mats Nygren: Stockholm University

Nature, 2002, vol. 417, issue 6886, 266-269

Abstract: Abstract Ceramics based on Si3N4 have been comprehensively studied and are widely used in structural applications1,2. The development of an interlocking microstructure of elongated grains is vital to ensure that this family of ceramics have good damage tolerance3,4. Until now this has been accomplished by heating the appropriate powder compacts to temperatures above 1,700 °C for extended periods. This procedure involves a necessary step of controlling the size and population of seeds—added ex situ or formed in situ—to ensure selective grain growth5,6. Here we report the very fast (within minutes) in situ formation of a tough interlocking microstructure in Si3N4-based ceramics. The microstructures are obtained by a dynamic ripening mechanism, an anisotropic Ostwald ripening process that results from the rapid heating rate. The resulting microstructures are uniform and reproducible in terms of grain size distribution and mechanical properties, and are easily tailored by manipulating the kinetics. This process is very efficient and opens up new possibilities to optimize mechanical properties and cost-effectively manufacture ceramics.

Date: 2002
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/417266a Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:nature:v:417:y:2002:i:6886:d:10.1038_417266a

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/

DOI: 10.1038/417266a

Access Statistics for this article

Nature is currently edited by Magdalena Skipper

More articles in Nature from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().