Synthesis of new rare earth containing ternary laminar Sc2PbC ceramic

In this paper, we combine rare earth element Sc and lead-containing MAX to predict a new ternary layered MAX phase Sc2PbC. Sc2PbC with a purity of 87.40 wt% was successfully synthesized by spark plasma sintering, and its crystal structure and atomic positions were obtained by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The Rietveld refinement results show that Sc2PbC belongs to a typical MAX phase P63/mmc (No.194) space group with lattice parameters of a = 3.4003(7) angstrom and c = 14.7475(3) angstrom, where Sc atom is located at (1/3, 2/3, 0.57958), Pb atom is located at (1/3, 2/3, 1/4), and C atom is located at (0, 0, 0). At the same time, we observed the typical MAX phase layered microstructure in Sc2PbC bulk using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). In addition, the proportion of ele-ments measured by energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) is within the allowable error range, which confirms that Sc2PbC is a new MAX phase compound.

Automated summary

In this paper, a new ternary layered MAX phase Sc2PbC was predicted by combining rare earth element Sc and lead-containing MAX. Sc2PbC with a purity of 87.40 wt% was successfully synthesized and its crystal structure and atomic positions were obtained through X-ray diffraction. The Rietveld refinement results confirmed the typical MAX phase P63/mmc (No.194) space group of Sc2PbC with specific lattice parameters and atomic positions. Scanning electron microscope analysis revealed the typical MAX phase layered microstructure in Sc2PbC bulk. Energy dispersive spectroscopy measurements confirmed the composition of Sc2PbC within the allowable error range, validating it as a new MAX phase compound.