Novel mixed α/β-SiAlONs with both elongated α and β grains

Yb-, Y- and Dy-doped mixed α/β-SiAlON ceramics were fabricated by hot-pressing using 10 wt.% BaAl2Si2O8 (BAS) glass ceramic as an additive. The results showed that BAS could effectively facilitate the anisotropic growth of both α- and β-SiAlON grains. The α-SiAlON grains as well as the β-SiAlON grains were highly elongated. The obtained mixed α/β-SiAlONs possess much better mechanical properties than those of conventional mixed α/β-SiAlONs containing equiaxed α-SiAlON grains in their microstructure.