Effect of TiN addition on the properties of spark plasma sintered TiB₂

Abstract

The sintering of hardly sintered TiB 2 powder has been investigated using the spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique. The investigation revealed that TiB 2 powder can be sintered to highly dense bulk samples using SPS technique. However optimization of the sintering condition could not generate bulk samples with a fine microstructure. The addition of TiN was found to be effective in obtaining bulk samples with fine structure. Sample bending strength largely improved from 120 MPa for TiN free samples to more than 373 MPa, much higher than that of graphite, for TiN containing samples. The improvement in bending strength is attributed to the fine structure formed and to the strong bonding between TiB 2 and TiN particles.