SILICATES INDUSTRIELS, vol.69, pp.305-310, 2004 (Journal Indexed in SCI)
In this study, AlN powder has been produced by the carbothermal reduction and nitridation of Seydisehir alumina under flow of nitrogen gas. Starting alumina powder which has 35 m average particle size and angular shape was wet mixed with carbon black in weight ratio of 1:1 (Al2O3:C) in a ball mill for 6 hours. After wet milling, average particle size of mixture was measured as 25 gym. Reduction and nitridation experiments have been performed in a horizontal tube furnace. Full conversion to AlN which is submicron size and spherical particles has been obtained at 1600degreesC for 1 hour or at 1500degreesC for 4 hours. The effects of reaction temperature (1400-1600degreesC) and time (0-240 min) on the reaction mechanism and morphologies of AlN powder have been investigated using XRD, SEM, BET and sedimentation methods.