Non-isothermal oxidation kinetics of nano-laminated Cr2AlC MAX phase

A highly pure Cr2AlC MAX phase is prepared through the sintering method by varying the aluminum content. The non-isothermal oxidation kinetics of the Cr2AlC phase is examined through a TGA/DTA technique, at variable heating rates (10, 20, 30, 40 °C/min). The TGA/DTA results show that the oxidation of the Cr2AlC phase occurred in two stages. The multi-stage kinetic analysis is performed to establish the nature of the oxidation process. The activation energy is calculated by following the Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose (KAS) and the Friedman (FR) iso-conversional kinetic methods. The reaction mechanism involved during the oxidation process is proposed through the integral master-plots method.