Tokai Carbon Company, Ltd.

Tokai Carbon

Tohru Kida

Motohiro Yamamoto

Minoru Fukazawa

Kanji Sugihara

A process for producing a titanium carbide whisker, comprising the steps of: mixing 100 parts by weight of a titanium source comprising titanium dioxide and/or an alkali metal titanate with 50 to 200 parts by weight of a carbon source and 1 to 30 parts by weight of a transition metal chloride; and heating the resultant mixture at 1300.degree. to 1700.degree. C. in an inert gas atmosphere.

Process for producing titanium carbide whisker

Disclosed are surface-coated SiC whiskers, processes for preparing the same, a ceramic reinforced with the same, and a process for preparing said reinforced ceramic. The surface-coated SiC whiskers are SiC whiskers (I) having a surface coated with a thin carbonaceous layer having a thickness of 7 to 100 .ANG., or SiC whiskers (II) having a surface coated with an Si.sub.3 N.sub.4 layer. The SiC whiskers (I) can be prepared by dispersing SiC whiskers in a homogeneous solution of a thermosetting resin in an organic solvent, separating the whiskers by filtration and drying it, curing the thermosetting resin, and firing the cured thermosetting resin in a non-oxidizing atmosphere at 800.degree. to 1,600.degree. C. The SiC whiskers (II) can be prepared by the dispersing SiC whiskers in a solvent of an organosilicon polymer in an organic solvent, separating the whiskers by filtration and drying it, heating the whiskers coated with the organosilicon polymer in a nitriding atmosphere at 1,200.degree. to 1,600.degree. C. A ceramic reinforced with the SiC whiskers (I) or (II) is obtained by mixing a ceramic powder with the SiC whiskers (I) or (II) and sintering the mixed powder in an inert atmosphere or in vacuo.

Surface-coated SiC whiskers, processes for preparing the same, ceramic

Disclosed are surface-coated SiC whiskers, proceses for preparing the same, a ceramic reinforced with the same, and a process for preparing said reinforced ceramic. The surface-coated SiC whiskers are SiC whiskers (I) having a surface coated with a thin carbonaceous layer having a thickness of 7 to 100 .ANG., or SiC whiskers (II) having a surface coated with an Si.sub.3 N.sub.4 layer. The SiC whiskers (I) can be prepared by dispersing SiC whiskers in a homogeneous solution of a thermosetting resin in an organic solvent, separating the whiskers by filtration and drying it, curing the thermosetting resin, and firing the cured thermosetting resin in a non-oxidizing atmoshpere at 800.degree. to 1,600.degree. C. The SiC whiskers (II) can be prepared by dispersing SiC whiskers in a solution of an organosilicon polymer in an organic solvent, separating the whiskers by filtration and drying it, heating the whiskers coated with the organosilicon polymer in a nitriding atmoshpere at 1,200.degree. to 1,600.degree. C. A ceramic reinforced with the SiC whiskers (I) or (II) is obtained by mixing a ceramic powder with the SiC whiskers (I) or (II) and sintering the mixed powder in an inert atmosphere or in vacuo.

The present invention provides a process for preparing silicon carbide whiskers. According to the process, carbon black having the following properties (a) to (c) is blended, as a carbonaceous material, with a silicon source material, and the resulting mixture is heated in a non-oxidizing atmosphere at 1,300.degree. to 1,800.degree. C.

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Gotenba, Japan

Tohru Kida