Spark Plasma Sintering of Pristine and Transition Metal-Doped Ti₂AlC MAX Phases

We study the synthesis of Ti₂AlC MAX-phase ceramics via spark plasma sintering (SPS), focusing on the effects of temperature, precursor composition, and transition metal doping (Mo, Ta, Hf, W, Y, and Mn). Optimized sintering parameters were established, defining the precursor ratios necessary for the formation of Ti₂AlC with >90% yield. Structural and compositional analyses revealed that select transition metals-Ta, Hf, W, and Y-could be incorporated into the Ti₂AlC lattice, which resulted in >90% yield for each transition metal-doped MAX phase. In contrast, Mo and Mn predominantly formed separate phases. These findings provide insights into the controlled synthesis of MAX-phase materials with tunable properties for high-performance applications.