SiC- and Ti₃SiC₂-Based Ceramics Synthesis by Spark Plasma Sintering of Preceramic Paper

This paper is devoted to proposing a new approach to the synthesis of SiC- and Ti₃SiC₂-based ceramics by using of preceramic paper as a feedstock. A preceramic paper with SiC and Ti₃SiC₂ powder fillers were sintered by spark plasma sintering (SPS) method for holding time 10 minutes under pressure 20-100 MPa. The temperature for the sintering of SiC- and Ti₃SiC₂-filled paper was 2073-2373 K and 1373-1473 K respectively. The influence of sintering parameters on the materials microstructure was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. It was revealed that with an increase in pressure from 20 to 100 MPa, the microstructure of the materials becomes denser. It agrees with the results of measuring the density of the sintering materials by the hydrostatic weighting. The determination of Young's modulus by the acoustic method demonstrates that with the increase of the applied pressure during SPS, Young's modulus of the synthesized SiC- and Ti₃SiC₂-ceramics increase.