Synthesis and characterization of novel Ti3SiC2–cBN composites

•Ti3SiC2–cBN composites were really made.•Starting materials: Ti3SiC2 and cBN powder, pressure: 4.5 GPa, temperature: 1050 °C.•The high pressure is to keep Ti3SiC2 rather than cBN in the composites.

In this paper, synthesis of novel super hard and high performance composites of titanium silicon carbide–cubic boron nitride (Ti3SiC2–cBN) was evaluated at three different conditions: (a) high pressure synthesis at ~ 4.5 GPa, (b) hot pressing at ~ 35 MPa, and (c) sintering under ambient pressure (0.1 MPa) in a tube furnace. From the analysis of experimental results, the authors report that the novel Ti3SiC2–cBN composites can be successfully fabricated at 1050 °C under a pressure of ~ 4.5 GPa from the mixture of Ti3SiC2 powders and cBN powders. The subsequent analysis of the microstructure and hardness studies indicates that these composites are promising candidates for super hard materials.