The effects of nanoparticle addition on binder removal from injection molded silicon carbide

The effects of nanoparticle addition on the multi-step debinding of injection molded SiC samples were studied. Experiments varying the solvent debinding conditions (time, temperature and aspect ratio) were performed on monomodal, microscale (μ) and bimodal, micro-nanoscale (μ-n) SiC samples. Variations in the solvent debinding kinetics as a result of the reduced particle size and increased powder content were examined. The data showed solvent debinding to occur in two stages. The bimodal μ-n SiC samples showed a slower solvent extraction of binder components compared to monomodal μ-SiC samples. The activation energy for solvent extraction estimated from diffusion coefficients (Arrhenius equation) was in close agreement with the value estimated by the master debinding curve (MDC) method. An activation value around 50 kJ/mol was estimated by both the methods for μ and μ-n SiC samples.