| Application of Mechanochemical Processing for Preparation of Si3N4-based Powder Mixtures |
| Malgorzata Sopicka-Lizer, Tomasz Pawlik |
| Silesian University of Technology, Faculty of Materials Engineering and Metallurgy |
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| ABSTRACT |
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Mechanochemical processing (MCP) involves several high-energy collisions of powder particles with the milling media and results in the increased reactivity/sinterability of powder. The present paper shows results of mechanochemical processing (MCP) of silicon nitride powder mixture with the relevant sintering additives. The effects of MCP were studied by structural changes of powder particles themselves as well as by the resulting sintering/densification ability. It has been found that MCP significantly enhances reactivity and sinterability of the resultant material: silicon nitride ceramics could be pressureless sintered at $1500^{circ}C$. Nevertheless, a degree of a silicon nitride crystal lattice and powder particle destruction (amorphization) as detected by XRD studies, is limited by the specific threshold. If that value is crossed then particle's surface damage effects are prevailing thus severe evaporation overdominates mass transport at elevated temperature. It is discussed that the cross-solid interaction between particles of various chemical composition, triggered by many different factors during mechanochemical processing, including a short-range diffusion in silicon nitride particles after collisions with other types of particles plays more important role in enhanced reactivity of tested compositions than amorphization of the crystal lattice itself. Controlled deagglomeration of $Si_3N_4$ particles during the course of high-energy milling was also considered. |
| Key words:
Mechanochemical processing, Silicon nitride, Fine-grained, Low-temperature sintering |
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