TITLE:
Synthesis of Ti3SiC2-Bicarbide Based Ceramic by Electro-Thermal Explosion
AUTHORS:
Nasr-Eddine Chakri, Zoubida Habes, Abdelaziz Toubal, Badis Bendjemil
KEYWORDS:
Ti3SiC2 Based Ceramic, Intermetallic, Bicarbide, Electro-Thermal Explosion Reaction (ETE), Valence Band Spectra, Core Level Excitation
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Chemical Engineering and Science,
Vol.4 No.2,
April
24,
2014
ABSTRACT: A polycrystalline dense Ti3SiC2 based ceramic
material has been produced by several techniques. The effect of addition of TiC
and SiC is also studied. The Ti3SiC2 material shows extraordinary electrical,
thermal and mechanical properties. Furthermore, it shows a damage tolerance capability and oxidation
resistance. In this work, we have synthesized Ti3SiC2 by
electro-thermal explosion chemical reaction (ETE) with high current density
(900 Amperes/a.u) followed by uniaxial pressure. The structural properties of
the as-prepared materials are studied by x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning
electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX)
techniques. The chemical cartography, imaging and electronic properties are
investigated using Ultra-STEM and electron high energy loss resolution
spectroscopy (EELS) techniques, respectively. The surface of Ti3SiC2 is characterized by means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). High
resolution C 1s, Si 2p, Ti 2p, Ti 3s core level spectra are explained in terms
of crystallographic and electronic structure. Valence band spectrum is
performed to confirm the validity of the theoretical calculations.