High Performance of Sub-Micro-Layered Ti3C2/(Cu-Al) Cermets Prepared by In-Situ Hot-Extruding Method

A series of new sub-micro-layered Ti3C2/(Cu-Al) cermets were prepared by in-situ hot-extruding a mixture of Ti3AlC2 and Cu powders, and some properties of these materials were tested. These cermets have quite high fracture strength and electric conductivity, due to the strong combination between Ti3C2 and (Cu-Al), and a special network microstructure formed by the (Cu-Al) phase surrounding the sub-micro-sheet layered Ti3C2 phase. The in-situ hot-extruding after pressless sintering can effectively eliminate pores contained in (Cu-Al) phase, and accelerate the diffusing of Cu towards the interlayer between Ti3C2 layers, so the fracture strength and electric conductivity are increased. With increasing the content of the ceramic phase, the strength of the cermets can be further increased while the ductility is reduced.