Study of the formation of niobium aluminides in the hydride cycle

Current technology requires that newly created materials have not only a set of functional properties but also be solid, lightweight, plastic, and easily machined. Intermetallic compounds based on the Nb–Al system occupy a prominent place among the advanced materials due to their unique properties. High-temperature intermetallides based on Nb and Al (Nb3Al, Nb2Al, NbAl3) are of great interest to aerospace engineering, power industry, etc. Therefore, the studies aimed at developing new methods for producing these materials performed in the present work are highly relevant. It is shown that the hydride cycle (HC) method for synthesizing refractory metal alloys developed in our laboratory can be successfully used to produce niobium aluminides. The main regularities and mechanism of the formation of niobium aluminide in the HC are investigated. All the phases known from the Nb–Al phase diagram are obtained. The advantages of the HC method compared to the conventional are demonstrated. In addition, the combustion of the produced niobium aluminide in a hydrogen atmosphere in the SHS mode is studied. The samples are analyzed using chemical methods, differential thermal analysis, and X-ray phase analysis.