Formation of a single-phase Ti3AlC2 from a mixture of Ti, Al and TiC powders with Sn as an additive

A high purity of Ti3AlC2 powder has been synthesized by pressureless sintering a mixture of Ti/Al/TiC/Sn (Sn as a sintering additive) powders with a mole ratio of 1:1:1:0.1 in the temperature range of 1350–1500 °C for 10 min in an Ar atmosphere. Sn is an effective additive and its effect on the formation of Ti3AlC2 has been discussed. The formation mechanism of Ti3AlC2 has been proposed. X-ray diffraction analysis and scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize the samples.