In this section, you can access to the latest technical information related to the FUTURE project topic.

High-pressure synthesis of high-performance submicron-sized polycrystalline ?-Si3N4 bulk without additives

Dense and submicron-sized polycrystalline ?-Si3N4 bulk samples with average grain size of 263???68?nm have been synthesized using micron-sized ?-Si3N4 powder (2??m) as the starting material by simultaneously tuning the pressure and temperature conditions. The measured Vickers hardness HV of the submicron-sized polycrystalline ?-Si3N4 could reach up to about 20?GPa, approaching the upper limit of the single crystal ?-Si3N4. The measured fracture toughness KIC of the polycrystalline ?-Si3N4 has been enhanced from 3.0 to 4.1?MPa?m1/2, as much as 36%, while without sacrificing the hardness. This study demonstrates that using micron-sized powder as the starting material to synthesize submicron-sized polycrystalline bulks by phase transformation under extreme pressure conditions is an efficient pathway to break through the old paradigm?the higher the fracture toughness of a material, the lower the hardness.

» Author: Zhiqiang Hou, Haikuo Wang, Ya-nan Yang, Xudong Song, Shuaipeng Chen, Shun Wan, Xiaomiao Zhao, Mengya Shang, Bin Chen

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