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Journal of the American Ceramic Society, Vol.94, No.4, 969-972, 2011
Three-Dimensional Printing of Ti3SiC2-Based Ceramics
In the present work, we explored the feasibility of fabricating Ti3SiC2-based ceramics by a near-net-shape fabrication process of three-dimensional printing (3D printing) combined with liquid silicon infiltration (LSI). The porous ceramic preform was fabricated by 3D printing TiC powder with dextrin as a binder. The heat-treated preforms contained bimodal pore structure with interagglomerate pores (d approximate to 23 mu m) and intraagglomerate pores (d approximate to 1 mu m). Upon infiltration in Ar atmosphere at 1600 degrees-1700 degrees C for 1 h, silicon melt infiltrated the pores and reacted with TiC to yield Ti3SiC2, TiSi2, and SiC. The effects of silicon content and infiltration temperature on the phase composition of the Ti3SiC2-based composites were also studied. After LSI at 1700 degrees C for 1 h, the composites with an initial TiC:Si mole ratio of 3:1.2 attained a bending strength of 293 MPa, a Vickers hardness of 7.2 GPa, and an electrical resistivity of 27.8 mu center dot cm, respectively.