Effect of C/Ti ratio on self-propagating high-temperature synthesis reaction of Sn-Ti-C system for fabricating Ti2SnC ternary compounds

Ti₂SnC ternary compound was successfully synthesized utilizing laser ignited self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) of Sn-Ti-C system with the different C/Ti molar ratio. When C/Ti ratio is 0.7, Ti₆Sn₅ as the main phase appears, and a small amount of TiC is also found, most of the Ti₆Sn₅ phases synthesized exhibit the polygon-shaped coarse appearance with an obviously sintered morphology, and the distinct transgranular and intergranular microcracks can be observed. When C/Ti ratio increases over the range from 0.8 to 1.0, the relative content of Ti₂SnC increase and the plate-like shape Ti₂SnC appears. Furthermore, the sintered density increases firstly and then decreases with the increasing of C/Ti ratio.