Effect of Different Composite Additives on Thermal Conductivity of Corundum Ceramics

To improve the thermal conductivity of alumina ceramics, different inorganic materials such as AlN, BN, Si3N4 and SiC which own high thermal conductivity were integrated with 96% alumina ceramic. The effect of addition of AlN, BN, Si3N4 and SiC on water absorption, flexural strength and thermal conductivity of the as-prepared alumina-based composite ceramics were investigated. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and X-ray diffractometer (XRD) were employed to characterize the microstructure and phase compositions of the composites. The results showed that sintering temperature of 96% alumina ceramic matrixes were improved in varying degree due to adding AlN, BN, SiC and Si3N4. A small quantity of Al6Si2O13 crystals were formed in the case of adding Si3N4 and SiC, which is due to the oxidation of Si3N4 and SiC into SiO2 in the air and the subsequent reaction with alumina. At appropriate firing temperature, the flexural strength of the composites with the addition of AlN is the best and higher than corundum matrixes. Meanwhile, the thermal conductivity of the composites with AlN has 110% improvement. It is obvious that AlN with high thermal conductivity is suitable for improving the thermal conductivity of corundum ceramics.