Spark plasma sintering of TiB2-based ceramics with Ti3AlC2

A TiB2-Ti3AlC2 ceramic was manufactured by spark plasma sintering at 1900 degrees C temperature for 7 min soaking time under 30 MPa biaxial pressure. The role of Ti3AlC2 additive on the microstructure development, densification behavior, phase evolution, and hardness of the ceramic composite were studied. The phase characterization and microstructural investigations unveiled that the Ti3AlC2 MAX phase decomposes at the initial stages of the sintering. The in-situ formed phases, induced by the decomposition of Ti3AlC2 additive, were identified and scrutinized by XRD and FESEM/EDS techniques as well as thermodynamics principles. The sintered TiB2 -Ti3AlC2 ceramic approached a near full density of similar to 99% and a hardness of similar to 28 GPa. The densification mechanism and sintering phenomena were discussed and graphically illustrated.

Automated summary

The TiB2-Ti3AlC2 ceramic was successfully manufactured using spark plasma sintering, with Ti3AlC2 additive decomposing at the initial stages of sintering. The final ceramic exhibited a near full density of around 99% and a hardness of approximately 28 GPa, with densification mechanism and sintering phenomena discussed and graphically illustrated.