NITRIDING POWDERS IN THE SYSTEM SiO₂ ― Al₂O₃ ― C

Chemical and x-ray analysis methods are used to study features of carbothermal reduction and simultaneous nitriding of a powder mixture of crystalline SiO₂ (α-quartz) and amorphous SiO₂ (Aerosil). It is established that the use of amorphous SiO₂ leads to accelerated formation of SiC and a shift in the direction of nitriding towards AlN formation. It is also shown that both phases are the solid solutions SiC ― AlN and AlN ― SiC.