Reaction synthesis of Ti2AlN MAX-phase

Abstract

Ti2AlN MAX-phase was synthesized from the powder mixtures of Ti–AlN using the reactionary sintering method. The optimal synthesis mode for the compound containing less than 1 % of TiN impurity phase was determined: isothermal annealing at 1300 °C for 2 hours in argon at a pressure of 3 atm. The preliminary mechanical activation and the reaction synthesis environment were investigated as the factors that can influence the yield of the Ti2AlN phase. It is shown that the activation increases the level of TiN secondary phase. It was also found that the vacuum synthesis does not enable obtaining of single-phase Ti2AlN.