Effect of Al addition on the synthesis of Ti3SiC2 bulk material by pulse discharge sintering process

Ti3SiC2 bulk materials were synthesized from the starting powders of 1Ti/1Si/2TiC–xAl and 3Ti/1SiC/1C–xAl (molar ratios, x ranges from 0.05 to 0.15) at temperatures between 1100 and 1400 °C for 15 min by pulse discharge sintering technique. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize the synthesized materials. It was found that the addition of Al decreases the content of TiC in the sintered samples and expands the optimal temperature range for the synthesis of Ti3SiC2 bulk materials. By addition of Al, Ti3SiC2 bulk materials of high phase-purity have been synthesized at 1100 and 1200 °C from 1Ti/1Si/2TiC and 3Ti/1SiC/1C starting powders, respectively.