Principle and Kinetic Mechanisms of Mechanical Alloying Derived Non-equilibrium Materials

Mechanical alloying (MA) has been extended to synthesize a variety of metastable materials, such as supersaturated solid solutions, intermetallic compounds, nanocrystalline, quasi-crystalline, and amorphous phases, which otherwise cannot be synthesized by conventional routes. As an alternative synthesis route, though apparently very “hard” compared to the “soft” precursor-derived ceramics (PDCs) method, MA has been proven to produce completely amorphous SiBCN powder due to the advantages including the avoidance of external heating and potentially harmful organic solvents, the shorter processing time, and the simpler operation.