Processing, Mechanical and Optical Properties of Additive-Free ZrC Ceramics Prepared by Spark Plasma Sintering

Year: 2016

Authors: Musa C., Licheri R., Orrù R., Cao G., Sciti D., Silvestroni L., Zoli L., Balbo A., Mercatelli L., Meucci M., Sani E.

Autors Affiliation: Dipartimento di Ingegneria Meccanica, Chimica e dei Materiali, Unità di Ricerca del Consorzio
Interuniversitario Nazionale per la Scienza e Tecnologia dei Materiali (INSTM)—Università degli Studi di
Cagliari, via Marengo 2, Cagliari 09123, Italy;
ISTEC-CNR, Institute of Science and Technology for Ceramics, Via Granarolo 64, Faenza 48018, Italy;
Corrosion and Metallurgy Study Centre “Aldo Daccò”, Engineering Department, University of Ferrara, G. Saragat 4a, Ferrara 44122, Italy
INO-CNR, National Institute of Optics, Largo E. Fermi, 6, Firenze 50125, Italy.

Abstract: In the present study, nearly fully dense monolithic ZrC samples are produced and broadly characterized from microstructural, mechanical and optical points of view. Specifically, 98% dense products are obtained by Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) after 20 min dwell time at 1850 degrees C starting from powders preliminarily prepared by Self-propagating High-temperature Synthesis (SHS) followed by 20 min ball milling. A prolonged mechanical treatment up to 2 h of SHS powders does not lead to appreciable benefits. Vickers hardness of the resulting samples (17.5 +/- 0.4 GPa) is reasonably good for monolithic ceramics, but the mechanical strength (about 250 MPa up to 1000 degrees C) could be further improved by suitable optimization of the starting powder characteristics. The very smoothly polished ZrC specimen subjected to optical measurements displays high absorption in the visible-near infrared region and low thermal emittance at longer wavelengths. Moreover, the sample exhibits goodspectral selectivity (2.1-2.4) in the 1000-1400 K temperature range. These preliminary results suggest that ZrC ceramics produced through the two-step SHS/SPS processing route can be considered as attractive reference materials for the development of innovative solar energy absorbers.

Journal/Review: MATERIALS

Volume: 9 (6)      Pages from: 489-1  to: 489-16

More Information: The financial support from the Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research, MIUR (Italy) through the project (Prot. RBFR12TIT1) FIRB 2012 “Futuro in Ricerca” is gratefully acknowledged. IM (Innovative Materials) S.r.l., Italy, is also acknowledged for granting the use of HPD 25-1 apparatus (FCT Systeme GmbH, Rauenstein, Germany) utilized for the preparation of 40 mm diameter specimens. One of us (Elisa Sani) acknowledges the Italian bank foundation “Fondazione Ente Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze” for providing the grant for Marco Meucci within the framework of the “SOLE” and “SOLE-2” projects (pratiche n. 2013.0726 and 2014.0711). Thanks are due to Massimo D´Uva and Mauro Pucci (CNR-INO) for technical assistance.
KeyWords: Ball milling; Carbides; Ceramic materials; Cermets; Electromagnetic wave propagation in plasma; Infrared devices; Mechanical properties; Optical data processing; Optical properties; Powders; Solar absorbers; Solar energy; Spark plasma sintering; Vickers hardness, Mechanical treatments; Monolithic ceramics; Optical measurement; Reference material; Self propagating high temperature synthesis; Temperature range; Ultra-high-temperature ceramics; Visible near infrared regions, Zirconium compounds
DOI: 10.3390/ma9060489

Citations: 11
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