Low temperature densification of B4C ceramics with CaF2/Y2O3 additives

This study deals with low temperature densification of boron carbide (B4C) ceramics with combined employment of CaF2/Y2O3 sintering additive and Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) technique. It demonstrates that a small amount addition of CaF2/Y2O3 has strong effect on the densification of B4C ceramics. With 0.5–1 wt.% CaF2/Y2O3 addition, nearly full-densification up to 99.1% of B4C ceramics can be attained at a temperature as low as 1700–1750 °C.

► Small amount of CaF2/Y2O3 was used as the sintering aids of B4C ceramics.
► SPS sintering densification of B4C was achieved at 1700–1750 °C.
► The mechanism regarding the sintering densification is discussed.