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The study of carbothermic reduction–sintering of ZrO2–ZrC–C composite microspheres prepared by internal gelation

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Abstract

ZrO2–ZrC–C (ZrCO) ceramic microspheres were fabricated by a combination of internal gelation and carbothermic reduction. The effects of temperature on carbothermic reduction of ZrO2 and the CO content in the heat treatment atmosphere on the phase composition, microstructure and properties of the microspheres were studied. The effects of different concentrations of CO in the reaction atmosphere on the formation of zirconium carbide were analyzed. The results indicate that addition of a small concentration of CO in the heat treatment atmosphere refined the microstructure, and high concentration of CO inhibited the formation of ZrC. Crack-free ZrCO ceramic microspheres with uniform microstructure, improved crush strength and density were successfully fabricated with C/Zr = 3 in the broth and heat treated at 1550 °C for 4 h in argon containing 5%CO.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support from Key Program for International S&T Cooperation Projects of China (No. 2016YFE0100700), and Chinese National Natural Science Foundation (No. 51420105006). “The Thirteenth Five-Year Plan” Discipline Construction Foundation of Tsinghua University (No. 2017HYYXKJS1) is also gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of New Ceramics and Fine Processing, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Nuclear Energy Technology, Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Xi Sun, Changsheng Deng, Jingtao Ma, Xingyu Zhao, Shaochang Hao, Ziqiang Li & Bing Liu

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  1. Xi Sun
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  2. Changsheng Deng
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  3. Jingtao Ma
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Correspondence to Jingtao Ma.

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Sun, X., Deng, C., Ma, J. et al. The study of carbothermic reduction–sintering of ZrO2–ZrC–C composite microspheres prepared by internal gelation. J Mater Sci 53, 14149–14159 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-018-2646-0

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