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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 16 February 2011
Aluminum nitride whiskers were synthesized by nitridation of commercial aluminum powder at 1623K in a nitrogen atmosphere. The starting materials consisted of aluminum and carbon black. The carbon acted as a barrier between aluminum powders during nitridation and was removed by heating in air at 923K. The whiskers were about 0.5-1μm in diameter and 10-20μm in length. The droplets at the whisker tips showed that the whiskers grew via a vapor-liquid-solid mechanism. The morphologies of the whiskers were studied by means of SEM and TEM. The formation of the whiskers depended on the processing conditions.