Synthesis of Ti2AlC by Hot Pressing

In the present study samples of Ti2AlC max phase were synthesized using a powder mixture of titanium, aluminum, graphite and hot pressing method. In order to save money, time and reduce the number of tests, the Box-Behnken experimental design was used. In this experiment design, the main synthesis parameters such as temperature, pressure and change quantities of aluminum and graphite were studied. The temperature, pressure and chemical composition were selected in the range of 1250 to 1400 °C, 0 to 30 MPa and 0 to 10 wt% higher than stoichiometric reactives (aluminum and graphite), respectively. In this regard, the physical and mechanical properties such as density and hardness of each sample were measured and Box-Behnken 3-D graphs for density of samples was presented. At temperatures below 1300 °C and lower pressure, the speed of formation of Ti2AlC was not enough, on the another hand at the temperature of 1400 °C, the synthesis of this phase was not possible. According to this investigation, optimum temperature and pressure for the synthesis of Ti2AlC were 1325 °C and 15 MPa, respectively. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy were employed in order to phase detection and the microstructure studies.