Effects of infiltration parameters on the synthesis of nano-laminated Ti3SiC2

In this paper, the nano-laminated Ti₃SiC₂ ceramics were fabricated by liquid silicon infiltration of gelcast porous titanium carbide (TiC) preforms. The phase compositions and microstructures of the synthesized samples at various infiltration times and temperatures were analyzed by the X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique and were observed by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The results showed that the formed Ti₃SiC₂ decomposes to the TiC phase with the increase of infiltration time. It was found from the XRD patterns that the samples with an 88?wt% Ti₃SiC₂ MAX phase can be produced with infiltration at 1500°C for 1?h with 50 vol% solid loading and 10?wt% monomer content. It is found that the hardness and flexural strength of Ti₃SiC₂-based ceramic has been reduced with a decrease in SiC and TiC impurities and reach 5.8?GPa and 420?MPa, respectively, for the sample with 15?wt% impurity. The microstructure evaluation revealed that the purity and properties of samples were affected both through the gelcasting and infiltration parameters.