Synthesis, Densification, Microstructure, and Mechanical Properties of Samarium Hexaboride Ceramic

Abstract

Samarium hexaboride (SmB6) powders were synthesized by boro/carbothermal reduction of Sm2O3 with B4C. Nominally pure SmB6 powder had a mean particle size of about 400 nm and an oxygen content of 0.12 wt%. SmBO3 formed as an intermediate phase during the synthesis. The synthesized powder was hot pressed at 1950°C to produce SmB6 ceramics with relative densities > 99.6% and a mean grain size of 4.4 µm. Vickers' hardness was 20.1 ± 0.7 GPa. Young's modulus measured by bending and ultrasonic methods was 271 and 244 GPa, respectively. The flexure strength was 253 ± 79 MPa and fracture toughness was 2.1 ± 0.1 MPa m1/2. These are the first reported results of the microstructure and bulk mechanical behavior of SmB6 ceramics.

Department(s)

Materials Science and Engineering

Second Department

Physics

Comments

YSH acknowledges support from the National Science Foundation under grant number DMR 1255607.

Keywords and Phrases

Densification; Mechanical Properties; Microstructure; Samarium Hexaboride; Synthesis

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

0002-7820; 1551-2916

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2018 American Ceramic Society, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Mar 2019

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