Volume combustion synthesis of B₄C–SiC nanocomposites in tubular and spark plasma furnaces

The nano-sized B₄C–SiC composite powders were in-situ synthesized with high purity in a short time at low temperatures. In this study, the mechanically activated mixtures of C, B₂O₃, Mg, and Si were used as raw materials. The synthesis processes were performed in tubular and spark plasma furnaces. The synthesized nanocomposites were acid, being leached to remove the MgO byproducts. The purity of the acid leached composites was determined through the XRD, EDS, and FTIR analyses. The purity level of the nanocomposites, which were synthesized in spark plasma furnace, was 90%, which was increased to 98% by using higher amounts of raw materials. Moreover, the average crystallite size of B₄C and SiC were 17 and 41 nm, respectively, in the high-purity nanocomposite. The SEM and TEM investigations confirmed the synthesis of nano-sized B₄C–SiC nanocomposites.