title: Single crystalline β-SiAlON nanowhiskers: preparation and enhanced properties at high temperature.
abstract: Single crystalline β-SiAlON (z = 1.0) nanowhiskers with uniform morphology were prepared using a reaction sintering method at 1773 K for 6 h under flowing nitrogen atmosphere. The as-synthesized whiskers were well-crystallized with about 100-200 nm in diameter and a few hundred microns in length. According to the thermodynamic calculation, Al(g) and SiO(g) are important intermediate reactants to synthesize β-SiAlON whiskers. In the experiment, the two phases was controlled by changing the flow rate of nitrogen to make β-SiAlON whiskers grow in a stable way. The formation of β-SiAlON whiskers occurred through a vapor-solid (VS) mechanism. SiAlON was found to grow as a single crystal whisker from the (10 ̅10) plane of the granule. Furthermore, an enhanced oxidation resistance for β-SiAlON whiskers at high temperature was also observed using the thermogravimetry method (TG), demonstrating that β-SiAlON whiskers with uniform morphology is a promising candidate as a reinforcing agent in composite.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Advanced Metallurgy, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China. houxinmei@ustb.edu.cn
authors.forename: Xinmei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.forename: Ziyou
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Zhiyuan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Baojun
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Kuo-Chih
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Chou