Microstructure and properties of bulk Ta2AlC ceramic synthesized by an in situ reaction/hot pressing method

Effects of Al content on formation of Ta2AlC by self-propagating high-temperature synthesis

“…Among the MAX compounds, Ti 3 SiC 2 [9][10][11][12], Ti 3 AlC 2 [5,[13][14][15], and Ti 2 AlC [16][17][18] are representative members and have been extensively studied. Besides Ti 2 AlC, a number of ternary carbides in the M 2 AlC family have also been synthesized, including Cr 2 AlC [19][20][21][22], Nb 2 AlC [23], V 2 AlC [24], and Ta 2 AlC [25][26][27][28][29]. Of particular interest for this work is Ta 2 AlC, which not only possesses decent mechanical properties [25,26], but also shows remarkable tribological performance in both sliding distance and thermal cycling for high-temperature applications [27].…”

“…: +886 4 24517250x3963; fax: +886 4 24510862. For the preparation of Ta 2 AlC, a reactive hot-pressing (HP) method using elemental Ta, Al, and graphite powders as the starting materials has been mostly employed [25][26][27][28][29]. Gupta et al [26,27] fabricated Ta 2 AlC from a stoichiometric powder mixture by reactive hot isostatic pressing (HIP) at 100 MPa and 1600 • C for 8 h in Ar.…”

“…In their study [28], a previously unknown phase Ta 6 AlC 5 was identified and the intergrown structures of Ta 2 AlC-Ta 4 AlC 3 and Ta 4 AlC 3 -Ta 6 AlC 5 were discovered. With a processing technique similar to that of Lin et al [28], Hu et al [25,29] investigated physical and mechanical properties of the as-prepared Ta 2 AlC and found Ta 3 AlC 4 always coexisting with Ta 2 AlC in the products synthesized from the green compacts of Ta:Al:C = 2:1:1, 2:1.1:1, and 2:1.2:1. As the molar ratio of the reactant was adjusted to be Ta:Al:C = 2:1.2:0.9, Hu et al [29] obtained monolithic Ta 2 AlC.…”

An investigation on formation of Nb2AlC by combustion synthesis of Nb2O5–Al–Al4C3 powder compacts

“…According to the previous studies on formation of the MAX carbides such as Ti3AlC2 [4,8], Ti2AlC [12], and Ta2AlC [24,25], it was found that the off-stoichiometric composition with an additional amount of Al was beneficial in the product evolution. The supplementary Al was to compensate for the evaporation of aluminum during the high-temperature synthesis process.…”

“…Besides Ti 2 AlC, a number of carbides in the 211 MAX family have attracted increasing attention, including Cr 2 AlC [17][18][19], Nb 2 AlC [20,21], V 2 AlC [22,23], Ta 2 AlC [24,25], Ti 2 GeC [26], and Cr 2 GeC [27]. Of particular interest for this work is Nb 2 AlC, which not only possesses decent mechanical and thermal properties [9,10,20,21], but also * Corresponding author.…”