Oxidation of Pentatitanium Trisilicide (Ti₅Si₃) Powder at High Temperature

Abstract

The oxidation of pentatitanium trisilicide (Ti5Si3) powder at high temperature was investigated in order to determine the suitability of this ceramic material for advanced application in an oxidation atmosphere at high temperature. Titanium silicide has been attracted for years as an engineering ceramics due to its high hardness, high melting point, and good chemical stability. The samples were oxidized from 300 to 1000 °C for 1 to 5 h in air. The mass changes were measured to estimate the oxidation resistance of the sample. The mass gain of the sample oxidized at 1000 °C for 5 h was about 26 % of the theoretical oxidation mass change. The commercial powder, Ti5Si3 showed an excellent oxidation resistance at 1000 °C, because the surface film of both titanium dioxide and silicon dioxide formed by oxidation acted as an oxidation resistant layer.