1.
Sci Technol Adv Mater
; 15(4): 045003, 2014 Aug.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-27877704
ABSTRACT
Silicon nitride foams were prepared by direct foaming and subsequent rapid sintering at 1600 °C. The intense thermal radiation generated under the pressureless spark plasma sintering condition facilitated necking of Si3N4 grains. The prepared foams possessed a porosity of â¼80 vol% and a compressive strength of â¼10 MPa, which required only â¼30 min for the entire sintering processes. Rapid growth of one-dimensional SiC nanowires from the cell walls was also observed. Thermodynamic calculations indicated that the vapor-liquid-solid model is applicable to the formation of SiC nanowires under vacuum.