microstructure and properties of spark plasma sintered sialon composites derived from novel precursors

This paper explores α/β-sialon composites, known for their exceptional mechanical and thermal properties, fabricated using spark plasma sintering (sps). novel reagents were initially introduced for the mechanochemical synthesis of precursors essential for producing α- and β-sialon phases via the carbothermal process. the prepared precursors were combined with active carbon in stoichiometric ratios and heated in a nitrogen (n₂) atmosphere for two hours. characterization techniques, including x-ray diffraction (xrd), fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ftir), and field emission scanning electron microscopy (fe-sem), confirmed the successful synthesis of sialon phases at 1500°c, revealing a range of morphologies.the results demonstrate that all composites sintered through the sps process achieve complete densification at 1800°c. mechanical properties, such as hardness and fracture toughness, are influenced by the ratios of α- and β-sialon phases. a composition of 70% β-sialon and 30% α-sialon exhibited optimal results, achieving a fracture toughness of 4.67 mpa•m¹/² and a hardness of 17.32 gpa, comparable to commercial samples produced using alternative raw materials.