Formation of β-SiAlON micropalings consisting of nanorods during combustion synthesis

Novel β-SiAlON micropalings consisting of nanorods have been prepared by combustion synthesis with proper additives. According to TEM images associated with SAD pattern, the preferred growth direction of the nanorods is proved to be [0 0 1]. An epitaxial nucleation and anisotropic growth mechanism is proposed to explain the formation of those micropalings. By this mechanism, new fine crystals are formed on the side faces of coarse crystals and each coarse prismatic β-SiAlON crystal is surrounded by parallel nanorods.