Improving properties of boron carbide (B4C) with silicon doping and titanium diboride addition

In this research, B 4 C-TiB 2 composites were successfully fabricated via the spark plasma sintering method. First, the TiB 2 source effect on the B 4 C-TiB 2 composites was investigated using commercially available TiB 2 and in-house synthesized TiB 2 . Subsequently, the effect of Si/B co-doped B 4 C on composite ceramics was studied, followed by examining the samples' microstructure and elastic and mechanical properties. The results showed that B 4 C-TiB 2 composites made with in-house TiB 2 powder obtained higher relative density and more desirable elastic and mechanical properties than samples made with commercial TiB 2 . In-house TiB 2 and Si/B-B 4 C composites provided more properties improvement overall. The elastic modulus, Vickers hardness, and fracture toughness values of Si/B co-doped samples were 493 GPa, 30.09 ± 1.97 GPa, and 4.31 ± 0.74 MPa m 1/2 , respectively. Additionally, the amorphization of the TiB 2 -B 4 C composite decreased with Si/B co-doping. • 2-3-5 wt.% TiB 2 - B 4 C composites were produced with commercial and in-house synthesized TiB 2 with or without Si/B doping. • 30.09 ± 1.97 GPa hardness, and 4.31 ± 0.74 MPa m 1/2 fracture toughness were obtained with the addition of 3 wt% RU TiB 2 -Si/B-B 4 C. • The fracture toughness increased by 86 % with the addition of 3 wt% RU TiB 2 when compared monolithic B 4 C. • A 24.11 % decrease was seen in the amorphization of composite with Si/B co-doping in B 4 C.