Densification and grain growth during microwave sintering of titanium diboride

Dense TiB2 ceramics have been produced by microwave sintering at 1600–1700 °C under a controlled atmosphere. The effect of sintering conditions on the densification, microstructure and mechanical properties were investigated. Microwave sintering resulted in a uniform crack-free uniform microstructure; a density of 98.5%, a bending strength of 410 ± 15 MPa, a Young’s modulus of 495 ± 10 GPa, an electrical resistivity of 1 × 10−5 Ω cm, a Vickers hardness of 24.5 ± 0.5 GPa and a fracture toughness of 5.42 ± 0.20 MPa m1/2 were obtained after sintering for 30 min at 1700 °C.