Sintering and Oxidation of GdB₄ Synthesized by B₄C Reduction Method

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Gadolinium tetraboride ($GdB_4$) was synthesized by reduction of $Gd_2O_3$ using boron carbide in presence of carbon. Effect of temperature on product quality was investigated. Pure $GdB_4$ powder was obtained in vacuum at $1500^{\circ}C$. Pressureless sintering experiments revealed that sintering takes place only above $1600^{\circ}C$. A maximum density of 77.1% of the theoretical value was obtained at $1800^{\circ}C$ by pressureless sintering. Hot pressing resulted in 95.5% of theoretical density at the lower temperature of $1700^{\circ}C$ under 35 MPa pressure. Hardness and fracture toughness of dense $GdB_4$ were measured and found to be 21.4 GPa and $2.3MPa{\cdot}m^{1/2}$, respectively. After exposure to air at $900^{\circ}C$, the formation of a porous and non-protective oxide layer was observed.