Silicon nitride foams from emulsions sintered by rapid intense thermal radiation

Open cell Si3N4 foams were fabricated by an emulsification process and subsequent sintering. Emulsification took place in an aqueous environment by using octane as alkane phase and a surfactant as stabilizer. Effects of different octane concentrations (50vol% and 70vol%) and stirring velocities (700rpm and 1000rpm) on porosity and pore size distribution were investigated. The shaped foams were pressureless sintered at 1600°C inside a modified SPS set-up. Si3N4 foams decorated with SiC nanowires and with an average cell size of 8–41μm and total porosity of 80–86vol% were obtained. The compressive strength ranged from 2.0MPa up to 9.9MPa. Both the foaming and sintering processes contributed to the development of different microstructures.