Effects of Diamond on the Mechanical Properties and Thermal Conductivity of Si₃N₄ Composites Fabricated Using Spark Plasma Sintering

Abstract

Micrometer-sized diamonds were incorporated into silicon nitride (Si₃N₄) matrix to manufacture high-performance Si₃N₄-based composites using spark plasma sintering at 1 500 °C under 50 MPa. The effects of the diamond content on the phase composition, microstructure, mechanical properties and thermal conductivity of the composites were investigated. The results showed that the addition of diamond could effectively improve the hardness of the material. The thermal conductivity of Si₃N₄ increased to 52.97 W/m·k at the maximum with the addition of 15 wt% diamond, which was 27.5% higher than that of the monolithic Si₃N₄. At this point, the fracture toughness was 7.54 MPa·m^1/2. Due to the addition of diamond, the composite material generated a new substance, MgSiN₂, which effectively combined Si₃N₄ with diamond. MgSiN₂ might improve the hardness and thermal conductivity of the materials.

Keywords

spark plasma sintering / Si₃N₄ / diamond / thermal conductivity / mechanical properties

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