Preparation of porous SiC ceramics for thermal dissipation purposes.

In the present study, porous silicon carbide (SiC) was prepared by mixing coarse SiC particles with a small amount of sodium silicate. The firing was then carried out at 1000 °C in air for 10 min. Though the resulting porosity is as high as 40%, the thermal conductivity of the porous SiC reached 19 W/m K, with the flexural strength reaching 20 MPa. The sodium silicate formed a strong bond between SiC particles; the thermal resistance of the thin bonding layer was low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]