Reactive synthesis for porous Ti3AlC2 ceramics through TiH2, Al and graphite powders

Porous Ti3AlC2 ceramics were fabricated by reactive synthesis. The process of fabrication involved five steps: (i) the pyrolysis of stearic acid at 450°C; (ii) the decomposition of TiH2 at 700°C, which leads to the conversion of TiH2 to Ti; (iii) the solid–liquid chemical reaction of solid Ti and molten Al at 800–1000°C, which converts the mixture to Ti–Al compounds; (iv) the newly synthesized Ti–Al compounds that react with surplus Ti and graphite to form ternary carbides and TiC at 1100–1200°C; and (v) reactive synthesized ternary carbides and TiC that yield porous Ti3AlC2 at 1300°C.