Open-cell reaction bonded silicon nitride foams: Fabrication and characterization

In this study, a newly designed fabrication procedure was utilized to produce silicon nitride foams. The main goal of the present study was to obtain Si3N4 foams with high levels of porosity and pore interconnectivity via an economical fabrication procedure including sacrificial template technique, gel-casting and reaction bonding processes. The fabrication procedure was studied and optimized in terms of suspension preparation and rheology, gel-casting parameters, and reaction bonding conditions. The produced foams have a precisely controlled level of porosity which can be varied up to 87 vol%. BET analysis showed that the surface area of the foam is of the order of 2.01 m2/g. The pore interconnectivity of the foam was investigated via polyester resin infiltration. Based on XRD and SEM analysis, the dominant nitriding reactions are the gas-phase reactions which lead to α-Si3N4 in the form of whiskers.