Sintering and properties of mechanical alloyed Ti3AlC2-Cu composites

Powder mixtures of Ti3AlC2 and Cu (volume ratio: 60: 40) with refined microstructures were obtained by mechanical alloying. After milling for up to 10 h the coherent domain size of Cu and Ti3AlC2 was reduced to 12 nm and 10 nm, respectively. Mechanical alloying induced reduction of melting point of Cu(Al) solid solution triggered liquid phase sintering at 950 °C resulting in a bimodal microstructure of Ti3AlC2-Cu(Al) composites with improved sintered density. The composite with nanoscale microstructure exhibits a low electrical resistance of (0.32±0.01)×10−6 Ω·m and superior ultimate compressive strength of (1242±24) MPa, respectively. The excellent mechanical properties were attributed to solid solution strengthening effect, grain size effect and kink band formation as well as formation large amount of dimples.