Synthesis of Ti3AlC2/Al2O3 nanopowders by mechano-chemical reaction

Abstract Ti 3 AlC 2 /Al 2 O 3 nanopowders were synthesized by the combination of mechanically-induce self-propagating reaction (MSR) of Ti, C, Al and TiO 2 powder mixtures and subsequently heat treatment. Effects of high energy milling and heat treatment temperatures on the phase transformation were investigated in detail. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to characterize the powders of milled and annealed, respectively. The morphology and microstructure of as fabricated products were also studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). Results show that TiC, Ti x Al y and Al 2 O 3 transitional phases were formed when the initial powder mixtures were milled for 24 h. The desired Ti 3 AlC 2 /Al 2 O 3 nanopowders with high purity were obtained when annealed the as-milled powders at 1100 °C. SEM image confirmed that the as fabricated Ti 3 AlC 2 /Al 2 O 3 particles has nanocrystalline layered structural matrix of Ti 3 AlC 2 , and the second phase of nanosized Al 2 O 3 disperses uniformly in the Ti 3 AlC 2 matrix.