Phase stability of Ti3SiC2 at high pressure and high temperature

Phase stability of Ti3SiC2 was studied under high pressure and high temperature using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. From the results obtained, the decomposition temperature of Ti3SiC2 decreases quickly against pressure, and the low temperature limits of phase segregation of the sample Ti3SiC2 lie between 1100 °C and 1000 °C, 1000 °C and 900 °C, 900 °C and 800 °C, under high pressures of 3, 4 and 5 GPa, respectively. Ti3SiC2 decomposes to generate TiC, SiC, and TiSix. On the basis of the experimental results, we suggest two decomposition models to explain the phase decomposition of Ti3SiC2 at high pressure and high temperature.