Oxidation behavior of SiBCN-Zr composites at 1500 °C prepared by reactive spark plasma sintering

Highlights: • The addtion of ZrB₂ would aggravate the oxidation of composites. • A dense amorphous SiO₂ film was formed on the samples after oxidation. • The oxidation of laminated BN(C) structure formed a preferable oxygen barrier. - Abstract: The oxidation behavior of SiBCN-Zr composites prepared through incorporating sol-gel processing with spark plasma sintering (SPS) was studied in detail. It is indicated from results that a dense amorphous SiO₂ film was formed on the samples superficially in the course of oxidation, which avoided the sample from being further oxidized. The oxidation of ZrB₂ would boost the oxygen to be diffused, which aggravates the oxidation. Amorphous SiO₂ would fill up the pores and avoid ZrB₂ particles from being further oxidized. A preferable anti-oxidation behavior was also manifested by BN(C) arising from the formation of B₂O₃ phases.