Low temperature sintering of nano-SiC using a novel Al₈B₄C₇ additive

Al₈B₄C₇ was used as a sintering additive for the densification of nano-SiC powder. The average grain size was approximately 70 nm after sintering SiC-12.5wt% Al₈B₄C₇ at 1550 °C. The densification rate strongly depended on the sintering temperature and the applied pressure. The rearrangement of SiC particles occurred at the initial shrinkage, while viscous flow and liquid phase sintering became important at the middle and final stage of densification.