Pulsed electric current, in situ synthesis and sintering of textured TiB2 ceramics

Textured TiB2 monolithic ceramics were prepared in a one step in situ synthesis and densification process during pulsed electric current sintering (PECS) using TiH2 and amorphous B as raw materials. The Lotgering orientation factors of the (0 0 l) and (h k 0) planes were measured to be 0.66 and 0.68, respectively. The crystallographically textured ceramics also display a clear microstructural anisotropy. The addition of SiC as a secondary phase was found to deteriorate the orientation in the TiB2 ceramic due to grain growth inhibition.