Research on reaction-bonded SiC (RBSiC) is aimed at developing a reliable structural ceramic with improved mechanical properties. The starting materials for RBSiC were Si,C and α-SiC powder. The formation of the complex microstructure of RBSiC involves (i) solution of carbon in liquid silicon, (ii) nucleation and epitaxial growth of secondary β-SiC on the original α-SiC grains followed by (iii) β>α-SiC phase transformation of newly formed SiC. Due to their coherent nature, epitaxial SiC/SiC interfaces are considered to be segregation-free and “strong” with respect to their effect on the mechanical properties of RBSiC. But the “weak” Si/SiC interface limits its use in high temperature situations. However, few data exist on the structure and chemistry of these interfaces. Microanalytical results obtained by parallel EELS and HREM imaging are reported here.
