Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 February 2011
Powder mixtures of 3Ti/SiC/C/xAl with different Al contents (x=0∼0.2) were reactively sintered by pulse discharge sintering (PDS) process, to reveal the effect of Al addition on the single-phase bulk Ti3SiC2 synthesis. It was found that the optimal sintering temperature for the Ti3SiC2 synthesis is greatly decreased by the Al addition. Almost single-phase bulk Ti3SiC2 material can be synthesized from 3Ti/SiC/C/0.15Al and 3Ti/SiC/C/0.20Al powder mixtures at temperature as low as 1200°C for 15 min by PDS. And the optimal temperature range for the Ti3SiC2 formation is enlarged obviously by the Al addition.