alpha -Si3N4 whiskers with diameters of about 0.1 mum and length of 3-5 mum
were fabricated through combustion synthesis route under very low nitrogen
pressure of 0.5-1 MPa. The measured maximum combustion temperature is abou
t 1863 K which is rather lower than the adiabatic temperature (about 4400 K
) and the decomposition temperature (about 2170 K) of Si3N4 under atmospher
ic pressure. The addition of NaN3 catalyst plays a key role in the formatio
n of alpha -Si3N4 whiskers under such low nitrogen pressure. (C) 2002 Publi
shed by Elsevier Science B.V.