Si 3 N 4 ceramics with high thermal conductivity and outstanding mechanical properties were prepared by adding β-Si 3 N 4 seeds and nanophase α-Si 3 N 4 powders as modifiers. The introduction of β-Si 3 N 4 seeds enhanced the growth of β-Si 3 N 4 grains. Owing to the interlocked structure induced by the β-Si 3 N 4 grains, the fracture toughness of Si 3 N 4 ceramics reached a high value of 7.6 MPa·m 1/2 ; also, the large-sized grains increased the contact possibility of Si 3 N 4 grains, improving the thermal conductivity of Si 3 N 4 ceramics (64 W/(m·K)). Because of the introduction of nanophase α-Si 3 N 4 , the flexural strength, fracture toughness, and thermal conductivity of the Si 3 N 4 ceramics increased to 754 MPa, 7.2 MPa·m 1/2 , and 54 W/(m·K), respectively. According to the analysis of the growth kinetics of Si 3 N 4 grains, the rapid growth of Si 3 N 4 grains was ascribed to the reduction in the activation energy resulting from the introduction of β-Si 3 N 4 seeds and nanophase α-Si 3 N 4 .
Guang-Xin Mao,Jia-Min Wu,Chong Tian,Chun-Lei Liu,Xin Lin,Fen Wang,Hai-Sheng Xu,Yu-Sheng Shi
Porous Si 3 N 4 ceramics are widely applied in aerospace and mechanical fields owing to their excellent properties. Furthermore, vat photopolymerization (VPP) technology can fabricate Si 3 N 4 components with complicated structures and high precision, but its layer-by-layer printing method leads to poor mechanical properties of ceramics. In this study, porous Si 3 N 4 ceramics with a porosity of 28.41 % strengthened by directional β-Si 3 N 4 were fabricated by combining VPP technology and seeding method. Rheological behavior and curing properties of the slurry were explored, and the influence of β-Si 3 N 4 content on the mechanical properties of printed Si 3 N 4 ceramics was investigated systematically. With the increase of β-Si 3 N 4 content, the orientation degree of β-Si 3 N 4 grains increased gradually, while fracture toughness and flexural strength of the ceramics exhibited a trend of increased first and then decreased and Vickers hardness gradually decreased. As β-Si 3 N 4 content increased to 5 wt%, the fracture toughness and flexural strength of porous Si 3 N 4 ceramics were improved from 4.23 MPa m 1/2 and 214.7 MPa–5.65 MPa m 1/2 and 272.0 MPa, respectively. Therefore, this work indicates that vat photopolymerization combined with seeding method is a promising approach for the fabrication of porous Si 3 N 4 ceramics with high performance and complex structures.