Optimizing structural anisotropy and thermal properties of hexagonal boron nitride ceramics through bimodal particle size distribution

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) ceramics exhibit exceptional thermal conductivity, yet integrating their anisotropic thermal properties into bulk ceramics remains challenging. This study investigates the impact of bimodal particle size distribution on the structure, thermal and mechanical properties of h-BN ceramics. Through DEM simulations and hot-pressing techniques, we demonstrate that incorporating large particles into fine ones significantly enhances the packing density, structural anisotropy and thermal properties of h-BN ceramics. The resulting high-purity h-BN ceramic prepared with 10 vol% large particles (10LBN) exhibits an Index of Orientation Preference (IOP) of −2780.57, surpassing that of ceramics without large particles (0LBN) at −1168.61. By regulating the structure, 10LBN h-BN ceramic show a notable increase of the in-plane thermal conductivity from 81.78 for 0LBN ceramics to 153.20 W/(m·K), along with a flexural strength of 58.21 MPa. Additionally, structural characterization and performance testing show that, compared to adding sintering additives, incorporating large plate-like h-BN particles offers greater benefits in optimizing the orientation structure and thermal conductivity of h-BN ceramics. These findings offer new insights for powder compaction using dual-sized plate-like particles and into the sintering of h-BN ceramics with tailored structural and thermal properties.