Preparation and performance of MAX phase Ti3AlC2 by in-situ reaction of Ti-Al-C system

In order to clarify the effects of the proportion of raw powders, heating temperature and holding time on the purity and properties of MAX phase Ti3AlC2, powder mixtures of Ti, Al and C powder with different ratio were prepared by planetary ball mill and heated under different conditions by spark plasma sintering. The microstructures and phase structures of the as-synthesized samples were characterized, the correlation between the mechanical properties and microstructure and fracture mechanism were investigated systematically. The results show that with the proportion of raw powders Ti:Al:C = 3:1.2:2, the sample heated at 1300 °C for 60 min has the highest purity 97.23 wt% of MAX phase. It has a compact and uniform lath-like structure with the length-thickness ratios of 3–5 and excellent comprehensive mechanical properties: the Vickers hardness, bending strength and fracture toughness are 5.26 GPa, 500 MPa and 7.35 MPa∙m1/2, respectively. The experimental results show that among the three factors, the proportion of raw powders has the greatest influence on purity of Ti3AlC2 phase, followed by heating temperature and holding time. The fracture morphologies of the tested samples demonstrate that under the action of external force, extrusion and kink occurred in the layered structures of Ti3AlC2 phase. These two forms of energy dissipation lead to the bending strength and fracture toughness of Ti3AlC2 are higher than that of traditional ceramics.