Synthesis of Ti2AlC by hot pressing and its mechanical and electrical properties

Ti2AlC bulk material was synthesized by hot pressing of mixture powders of TiC, Ti, Al and active carbon. The phase compositions of resultant product at different temperature were detected by X-ray diffractometer. The microstructures of the samples were observed by SEM. Finally, the mechanical properties and thermal properties of the sample at 1400 °C were measured. The results show that high purity Ti2AlC material with little Ti3AlC2 can be synthesized by hot pressing 0.5TiC/1.5Ti/1.0A1/0.5C at 1400 °C. Ti2AlC exhibits high mechanical properties and metallic electrical properties. Its fracture toughness is 7.0 MPa·m½, its flexural strength is 384 MPa at room temperature, and its electrical conductivity is 2.56 × 106 Ω−1·m−1 at room temperature.