Bulk (Ti,Cr)N consolidated by pulsed current activated sintering and its mechanical properties

Previously, we synthesized (Ti,Cr)N nanoparticles by the electrical explosion of Cr-plated Ti wires and subsequent gas nitriding. In this study, we report the consolidation of bulk (Ti,Cr)N using pulsed current activated sintering (PCAS). A near-full density (Ti,Cr)N compact was obtained in 7 min at 1600 °C. The microhardness and fracture toughness of (Ti,Cr)N were measured and compared to TiN. The average composition of the sintered (Ti,Cr)N was about Ti0.8Cr0.2N. The hardness of the (Ti,Cr)N compact was comparable to monolithic TiN even though its grain size was about 3 times larger and it formed a solid solution with softer CrN. It showed almost a complete intergranular fracture mode with a low toughness value possibly due to the embrittled grain boundaries resulting from slight compositional or density variations.