EFFECT OF SIC ON INTERFACIAL REACTION AND SINTERING MECHANISM OF TIB2

Compacts of TiB2 with densities approaching 100% are difficult to obtain using pressureless sintering. The addition of SiC was very effective in improving the sinterability of TiB2. The oxygen content of the raw TiB2 powder used in this research was 1.5 wt%. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed that the powder surface consisted mainly of TiO2 and B2O3. Using vacuum sintering at 1700 degrees C under 13-0.013 Pa, TiB2 samples containing 2.5 wt% SiC achieved 96% of their theoretical density, and a density of 99% was achieved by HIPing. TEM observations revealed that SiC reacts to form an amorphous phase. TEM-EELS analysis indicated that the amorphous phase includes Si, O, and Ti, and X-ray diffraction showed the reaction to be TiO2 + SiC --> SiO2, + TiC. Therefore, the improved sinterability of TiB2 resulted from the SiO2 liquid phase that was formed during sintering when the raw TiB2 powder had 1.5 wt% oxygen.