Fabrication of textured Ti₃SiC₂ceramic by slip casting in a strong magnetic field and pressureless sintering

Sinterable Ti₃SiC₂powder was synthesized from a powder mixture with a molar ratio of 1.0Ti:0.3Al:1.2Si:2.0TiC by heating at 1200°C in Ar flow. Almost single-phase peaks of Ti₃SiC₂were observed in X-ray diffraction patterns. The powder was dispersed in ethanol using polyethylenimine (PEI) as the polymer dispersant. Textured dense Ti₃SiC₂ceramics were successfully fabricated by slip casting in a strong magnetic field followed by pressureless sintering at 1400°C for 2h. The relative density of these Ti₃SiC₂ceramics was 99.4%, and the bending strength, fracture toughness and electrical resistivity were 623 ± 9MPa, 5.9 ± 0.1 MPa·m^1/2and 0.31 μΩ·m, respectively. Compared with those of nontextured pressureless sintered samples of almost full density, the bending strength and fracture toughness of the textured Ti₃SiC₂ceramics were increased by factors of 1.6 and 1.4, respectively.