Effect of sintering method on the microstructure of pure Cr₂AlC MAX phase ceramics

抄録

Synthesis and sintering behavior of Cr₂AlC compounds were investigated using two sintering techniques: pressureless sintering and field assisted sintering technology/spark plasma sintering. Both processes—synthesis and sintering—were carried out simultaneously in one or two different steps. Pure Cr₂AlC bulk materials but with relative density below 90% can be obtained by pressureless sintering, whereas highly dense compounds with secondary phases were achieved by FAST/SPS. The optimized processing route to obtain highly pure and dense (98.9%) Cr₂AlC materials is based on the synthesis of the pure phase by pressureless calcination followed by FAST/SPS densification.