Thermal conductivity of combustion synthesized β-sialons

To the first time, thermal conductivities of spark plasma sintered β-sialons (Si3Al3O3N5) procured from combustion synthesis (CS) with no sintering additive were measured by the laser flash method at room temperature. A full densification occurred when these materials were sintered at 1600 °C with a simultaneous pressure of 50 MPa. XRD analyses indicated that single phase β-sialons were formed after SPS though the combustion synthesized β-sialon powders had considerable amounts of silicon impurities. Thermal conductivity values increased with sintering temperature and attained a maximum of 5.49 W m−1 K−1 for fully densified β-sialons sintered at 1700 °C for 10 min.