Electrosynthesis of Ti3AlC2 from oxides/carbon precursor in molten calcium chloride.

Layered micron-scale Ti 3 AlC 2 powders have been successfully synthesized from TiO 2 /Al 2 O 3 /C precursor by a facile electrochemical process at 900 °C and 3.1 V in molten CaCl 2 . Porous TiO 2 /Al 2 O 3 /C mixture pellet was served as the cathode and a graphite rod was employed as the anode. The influence of carbon content on the products was systematically investigated. The lattice parameters of the electrosynthesized Ti 3 AlC 2 were determined. In addition, three reaction periods from TiO 2 /Al 2 O 3 /C to Ti 3 AlC 2 including the generation of CaTiO 3 /Ca 12 Al 14 O 33 intermediate compounds, the reduction of the oxides/compounds and the formation of Ti 3 AlC 2 were investigated and confirmed. The results show that the electrochemical process is of great potential to the facile synthesis of Ti 3 AlC 2 , which may also have implication for the production of other M n +1 AX n phases from their inexpensive and abundantly available oxides precursors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]