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Article
Processing of Dense High-Entropy Boride Ceramics
Journal of the European Ceramic Society
  • Lun Feng
  • William Fahrenholtz, Missouri University of Science and Technology
  • Greg Hilmas, Missouri University of Science and Technology
Abstract

Dense (Hf0.2,Zr0.2,Ti0.2,Ta0.2,Nb0.2)B2 high-entropy ceramics with high phase purity were produced by two-step spark plasma sintering of precursor powders synthesized by boro/carbothermal reduction of oxides. The reacted powders had low oxygen (0.404 wt%) and carbon (0.034 wt%) contents and a sub-micron average particle size (∼0.3 µm). Powders were synthesized by optimizing the excess B4C content of the reaction mixture and densified by a two-step spark plasma sintering process. The relative density increased from 98.9% to 99.9% as the final sintering temperature increased from 2000 °C to 2200 °C. The resulting ceramics were nominally single-phase (Hf,Zr,Ti,Ta,Nb)B2 with oxygen contents as low as 0.004 wt% and carbon as low as 0.018 wt%. The average grain size increased from 2.3 ± 1.2 µm after densification at 2000 °C to 4.7 ± 1.8 µm after densification at 2100 °C, while significant grain growth occurred during sintering at 2200 °C. The high relative densities, low oxygen and carbon contents, and fine grain sizes achieved in the present study were attributed to the use of synthesized precursor powders with high purity and fine particle size, and the two-step synthesis-densification process. These are the first reported results for dense high-entropy boride ceramics with high purity and fine grain size.

Department(s)
Materials Science and Engineering
Keywords and Phrases
  • Ultra-High Temperature Ceramics,
  • High-Entropy Boride Ceramics,
  • Powder Synthesis,
  • Two-Step Spark Plasma Sintering,
  • Microstructure
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2020 Elsevier, All rights reserved.
Publication Date
9-1-2020
Publication Date
01 Sep 2020
Disciplines
Citation Information
Lun Feng, William Fahrenholtz and Greg Hilmas. "Processing of Dense High-Entropy Boride Ceramics" Journal of the European Ceramic Society Vol. 40 Iss. 12 (2020) p. 3815 - 3823 ISSN: 0955-2219; 1873-619X
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/greg-hilmas/250/