Ion sputtering erosion mechanisms of h-BN composite ceramics with textured microstructures

Since the hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) grain shows typical lamellar structures, textured materials can be obtained by arranging h-BN grains along one direction. In this work, textured h-BN composite ceramics with the c-axis orientation arranged along the pressure direction are manufactured by hot-press sintering using mullite as the sintering additive. The results show that sintering pressures not only play a major role in the density and the textured degrees of composite ceramics, but also influence Xe ion erosion resistance performances. After Xe ion sputtering, compositions of both h-BN and mullite stay stable, while the elemental compositions have changed due to the so-called "preferential sputtering". Sputtered surfaces along different orientations show diverse morphologies attributed to the textured microstructures. The erosion mechanisms of h-BN grains during Xe ion sputtering are breaking of B-N bonds and delamination of BN layers. While the mass loss of composite ceramics is due to the erosion of h-BN grains and mullite coupled with partial detachment of h-BN grains from the surface.