Preparation and characterization of Ti3SiC2 powder

Pressureless sintering in vacuum was applied to synthesize Ti3SiC2 from elemental powders of Ti, Si and C. Based on the phase compositions and purities of the products obtained by X-ray diffraction, the elemental powders composition and sintering condition were optimized. It was found that the sample sintered at 1450 °C for 240 min from a mixture of 3Ti/1.75Si/2C (molar ratio) contained Ti3SiC2 with the volume fraction as high as 93%. It was proposed that loss of Si through gaseous vaporization and contamination of C might be the main obstacles against obtaining high-purity material by this way.