Preparation and characterization of Ti3SiC2 powder

Abstract Pressureless sintering in vacuum was applied to synthesize Ti 3 SiC 2 from elemental powders of Ti, Si and C. Based on the phase compositions and purities of the products obtained by X-ray diffraction, the elemental powders composition and sintering condition were optimized. It was found that the sample sintered at 1450 °C for 240 min from a mixture of 3Ti/1.75Si/2C (molar ratio) contained Ti 3 SiC 2 with the volume fraction as high as 93%. It was proposed that loss of Si through gaseous vaporization and contamination of C might be the main obstacles against obtaining high-purity material by this way.