Spark Plasma Sintering of Pristine and Transition Metal-Doped TiAlC MAX Phases.

We study the synthesis of TiAlC MAX-phase ceramics via spark plasma sintering (SPS), focusing on the effects of temperature, precursor composition, and transition metal doping (Mo, Ta, Hf, W, Y, and Mn). Optimized sintering parameters were established, defining the precursor ratios necessary for the formation of TiAlC with >90% yield. Structural and compositional analyses revealed that select transition metals-Ta, Hf, W, and Y-could be incorporated into the TiAlC lattice, which resulted in >90% yield for each transition metal-doped MAX phase. In contrast, Mo and Mn predominantly formed separate phases. These findings provide insights into the controlled synthesis of MAX-phase materials with tunable properties for high-performance applications.