Coating of nano-sized TiN on silicon nitride-based materials and fabrication of highly electroconductive ceramics by spark plasma sintering

Abstract

β-Sialon (z=2) particles coated with 10∼20 nm TiN particles were prepared by controlled hydrolysis of Ti(O-i-C₃H₇)₄, followed by nitridation with NH₃ gas. Spark plasma sintering of 25 vol.% TiN/β-Sialon at 1500°C yielded ceramics with TiN networks of 0.1∼0.5μm wide in the matrix, which had a relative density of 95% and a low electrical resistivity (∼10^-4Ωcm).