Synthesis of Ti3SiC2/TiC composites from TiH2/SiC/TiC powders

This paper considers the synthesis of Ti3SiC2/TiC composites by pulse discharge sintering (PDS) using initial TiH2/SiC/TiC powder mixtures of different molar ratios without preliminary dehydrogenation. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with elemental energy dispersion analysis were utilized for the evaluation of the phase content and features of the microstructure. The sintered materials were found to have a dense structure and possess (001) texture. Scanning electron microscopy study showed that the specimens synthesized from the TiC-depleted mixtures have a double-phase composition of 60–80 vol.% of Ti3SiC2 and TiC. The specimens demonstrated good mechanical performance—the hardness being in the range of 4–6 GPa and the flexural strength in the range of 400–550 MPa.