Mechanochemical synthesis of Al2O3–ZrB2–ZrO2 nanocomposite powder

• Synthesis of Al2O3–ZrB2 nanocomposite powder by mechanochemical method.
• Optimization of BPR on the formation time and impurity of this composite.
• Microstructure analysis by Rietveld method that confirmed by TEM.

Al2O3–ZrB2 composites were obtained by mechano-chemical synthesis from a mixture of ZrO2, B2O3 and Al powders. The effects of milling time and ball to powder weight ratio (BPR) were investigated. Higher BPRs reduced the required milling time for the formation of this composite. In the BPR 5:1, this composite was formed in the range of 20–25 h with the minimum Fe impurity (0.33%). Rietveld analysis showed that a nanostructured powder with a mean crystallite size less than 25 nm was procured in all samples. The mean crystallite size of 20 nm was calculated for 30 h milled powder with the BPR of 5:1.

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