Chemical synthesis and characterization of nanosized titanium aluminide

Titanium aluminides are among the more promising intermetallics for use in aerospace and automotive applications; however, their acceptance has been hampered by their lack of ductility. Significant improvement in ductility may be obtained from nanostructured intermetallics. Reaction of Ti[N(SiMe3)2]3 with excess alane produces a precursor (Compound 1) to titanium aluminide. We propose compound 1 to be a loose cluster (or family of clusters) in which titanium and aluminum atoms are both bonded directly and bridged by imidosilanes. This chemically synthesized precursor, when heated to 1000 °C, produces nanosized particles of TiAl3. Nanosized TiAl3 has been characterized by chemical analysis, solid-state NMR, X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and high-resolution electron microscopy.