Phase stability of Ti3SiC2 at high pressure and high temperature

Abstract Phase stability of Ti 3 SiC 2 was studied under high pressure and high temperature using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. From the results obtained, the decomposition temperature of Ti 3 SiC 2 decreases quickly against pressure, and the low temperature limits of phase segregation of the sample Ti 3 SiC 2 lie between 1100 °C and 1000 °C, 1000 °C and 900 °C, 900 °C and 800 °C, under high pressures of 3, 4 and 5 GPa, respectively. Ti 3 SiC 2 decomposes to generate TiC, SiC, and TiSi x . On the basis of the experimental results, we suggest two decomposition models to explain the phase decomposition of Ti 3 SiC 2 at high pressure and high temperature.