The effect of Y2O3 on the synthesis of AlN by the carbothermal reduction-nitridation of Al2O3 was investigated. The amount of Y2O3 addition was varied from 0 to 7.50mass%. Nitridation was carried out at 1450°C for 0-360min in N2 flow. The grain sizes of synthesized powders were almost same regardless of the amount of Y2O3 addition. The synthesized AlN powders appeared round shape. From XRD analysis, Y4Al2O9 was identified as an intermediate compound during nitridation. It was confirmed to be finally converted to Y2O3 after nitridation. Therefore this synthesized powder is considered to be advantageous to densification because the remaining Y2O3 acts as a sintering aid.
