Morphology and mechanism study for the synthesis of ZrB2–SiC powders by different methods

Abstract ZrB 2 –SiC ceramics, whose SiC is generally incorporated into the system by mechanical mixing, are known to have better performance than monolithic ZrB 2 . Therefore, synthesis of duplex ZrB 2 –SiC powders is beneficial for improving sinterability and mechanical properties of ZrB 2 –SiC composites. In the present work, ZrB 2 –SiC duplex powders with different morphologies were synthesized at 1550 °C for 2 h using as - synthesized amorphous hydrous ZrO 2 –SiO 2 . Both precipitation and sol–gel methods were used to prepare ZrO 2 –SiO 2 precursors. ZrB 2 –SiC powder derived from precipitation method presented a rod-like morphology with smaller irregular particles adhering to them. And the morphology from sol–gel method was equiaxed shape with a very uniform distribution for principal components of Zr and Si.