Ni3Al/diamond composites produced by pulse plasma sintering (PPS) with the participation of the SHS reaction

• Obtained sinters Ni3Al/diamond.
• The sinters obtained from powders of Ni, Al and diamond sintering them SHS reaction.
• Diamond in the composite is strongly connected to matrix Ni3Al by carbide Ni3C.
• The composite sintered pulse current of 100 kA and duration of 800 μs.

Dense Ni3Al and Ni3Al/diamond sinters were produced by sintering nickel, aluminum, and diamond powders using the PPS method with the participation of the self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS). The sintering process was conducted at a temperature of 1000 °C for 5 min. The density of the sinters was 98.3% in Ni3Al and 100% in Ni3Al/diamond, and the hardness was 305 HV and 650 HV, respectively.