Boron carbide (B₄C) ceramics were synthesized by spark plasma sintering at a temperature between 1600 and 2050 °C without employing any sintering additives. The effect of sintering process parameters, such as temperature, holding time, pressure, hearting rate, and pulsed electric current, and the particle size of the raw powder on the densification behavior and mechanical properties of B₄C ceramics, were comprehensively and systematically investigated. Hardness and fracture toughness of B₄C that has a density close to the theoretical value were found to be 33.5 ± 0.2 GPa and 3.21 ± 0.13 MPa·m^1/2, respectively. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) analysis revealed no abnormal growth of grains due to an increase in holding time and pressure. Twin structures present in ceramics are beneficial for their mechanical performance.

In this study, different reaction-bonded boron carbide (RBBC) composites with a free carbon addition from 0 to 15 wt% were prepared, and the effect of the carbon content on the mechanical properties was discussed. With the free carbon addition increase from 0 to 15 wt%, the residual silicon content in the RBBC composite decreased first and then increased. Meanwhile, the strength of the RBBC composite improved first and then worsened. In the RBBC composite without free carbon, the B₄C grains are obviously dissolved, the grains become facet-shape, and the grain boundary becomes straight. The microstructure of the composite was tested by SEM, and the phase composition of the composite was tested by XRD. The RBBC composite with the addition of 10 wt% free carbon has the highest flexural strength (444 MPa) and elastic modulus (329 GPa). In the composite with a 10 wt% carbon addition, the phase distribution is uniform and the structure is compact.

Reaction-bonded silicon carbide (RBSC) has become an important structural ceramic with the benefit of being capable of preparing complex-shaped products. In order to fabricate high-performance RBSC, particle gradation of raw SiC combined with slip casting was used to prepare the porous preform before liquid silicon infiltration (LSI). The microstructural and mechanical properties of RBSC were compared by adding different amounts of carbon black (CB) content from 4 wt% to 10 wt%. Two pore structures with submicron and nano pores formed in the preform. As the amounts of carbon black increased, the mechanical properties improved and then suddenly weakened due to residual silicon initiating a nonuniform microstructure. The elastic modulus of the preform with 8 wt%CB after LSI was 389 ± 4 GPa and the flexural strength was 340 ± 17 MPa, which improved by about 150% compared to other rapid prototyping methods and has attractive application prospects.