A novel fabrication of Al₂O₃/SiC composite via surface 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane tailored Al₂O₃

Abstract

Fabrication of Al₂O₃/SiC composite has attracted much worldwide attention due to numerous advantages to compare with monolithic Al₂O₃, as improved bending strength and wear resistance, increased lifetime and inducing of self-crack-healing ability. As one of the conventional fabrication methods for Al₂O₃/SiC composites, through infiltration polycarbonsilane as SiC precursor in pre-sintered puros Al₂O₃ matrix and followed by thermal decomposition has been demonstrated. However, this method is limited because of two-step sintering process and high cost of polycarbosilane chemicals. The present work reports a novel approach to fabricate Al₂O₃/SiC composite by utilizing cost-effective 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane as precursor of SiC, which is tailored on surface modified Al₂O₃. The moderate hydroxyl groups modified on Al₂O₃ surface by wet mechanochemical treatment are proved to be important to grafting organosilane on surface under continuous hydrolysis and condensation, which can convert into SiC after thermal pyrolysis. As a result, composite involving homogenous SiC particle distributed Al₂O₃ matrix is successfully fabricated.