Strength improvement and purification of Yb2Si2O7‐SiC nanocomposites by surface oxidation treatment. Issue 7 (3rd April 2017) - Nguyen, Son T.
Abstract: A two‐step processing was developed to prepare Yb2 Si2 O7 ‐SiC nanocomposites. Yb2 Si2 O7 ‐Yb2 SiO5 ‐SiC composites were first fabricated by a solid‐state reaction/hot‐pressing method. The composites were then annealed at 1250°C in air for 2 hours to activate the oxidation of SiC, which effectively transformed the Yb2 SiO5 into Yb2 Si2 O7 . The surface cracks purposely induced can be fully healed during the oxidation treatment. The treated composites have improved flexural strength compared to their pristine composites. The mechanism for crack healing and silicate transformation have been proposed and discussed in detail.