Synthesis of High-Purity Ti₃SiC₂ through Pulse Discharge Sintering of TiH₂/SiC/C Powder Mixture

Abstract

Ternary compound Ti₃SiC₂ was successfully synthesized by pulse discharge sintering the powder mixture of TiH₂/SiC/C. When the molar ratio of the starting powder mixture was selected to be TiH₂:SiC:C=2.8:1:0.8, single-phase dense Ti₃SiC₂ was synthesized at 1400°C for 20 min. The grain size of synthesized Ti₃SiC₂ strongly depends on the sintering temperature. The synthesis mechanism of Ti₃SiC₂ was revealed to be completed via the reactions among the intermediate phases of Ti₅Si₃C_x and TiC. It is found that dehydrogenation was accelerated by the synthesis reaction during sintering progress. Compared with Ti/SiC/C powder mixture, the TiH₂/SiC/C mixed powder is favorable for synthesizing Ti₃SiC₂ through PDS technique.