材料期刊网

Pressureless sintering of titanium aluminum carbide (Ti(3)AlC(2)) is difficult due to its easy decomposability at high temperatures, thus decomposition must be avoided during sintering. In this work, pressureless sintering was performed in different embedded powders and Al(4)C(3) was found to be effective to inhibit Ti(3)AlC(2) from decomposition due to the offering of Al rich ambience. High-density Ti(3)AlC(2) was obtained by pressureless sintering in Al(4)C(3) powder bed without additives. The good sinterability is due to the special crystal structure of Ti(3)AlC(2) and the easy diffusion of Al atoms. The mechanical properties of pressureless sintered Ti(3)AlC(2) are comparable to those of the hot-pressed ones.