AlN-induced reinforcement of nano-amorphous B–C–N compound for TiB2–B4C ceramic composite

Abstract Structural ceramic composite plays an important role in industrial production and safety assurance, whose failure always accompanied by catastrophic consequences. Now, we present a TiB2–B4C ceramic composite with interesting mechanical properties reinforced by the nano-amorphous B–C–N compound. In-situ reactive sintering and spark plasma sintering (SPS) were selected as the preparation technology. Meanwhile, AlN provided a nitrogen source and induced the formation of the nano-amorphous phase. We found that the nano-amorphous B–C–N compound mainly concentrated in lamellar grains and second-phase particles among matrix grains, which significantly improve the flexural strength and fracture toughness. Finally, the reinforced mechanism of the nano-amorphous structure induced by AlN was illustrated by a schematic diagram.