Synthesis of Cr2AlB2 MAB phase via Spark Plasma Sintering: Effect of temperature, dwell time, and Al content

Abstract

This study reports a new method for synthesizing Cr2AlB2 from Cr, Al, and B elemental powders. In addition, the effects of temperature, dwell time, and Al content was discussed in-depth for the samples synthesized by Spark Plasma Sintering Method (SPS). Finally, XRD and SEM analysis investigated the phase evolution and microstructural development of the SPSed Cr2AlB2 structure. For samples sintered at different temperatures (800, 900, 1000, and 1100 °C), different dwell times (5, 10, 20 min), and different Al content (stoichiometric ratio, 20% excess Al, and 50% excess Al), the best results were obtained for samples synthesized at 1000 °C, 10 min with 50% excess Al. Finally, the NaOH treatment removed the excess Al in the structure. Thus, for the first time, pure Cr2AlB2 phase was obtained by the SPS method.