Ti2SnC Titanium Stannum carbide

Ti2SnC Titanium Stannum carbide

Ti2SnC ceramics is a new type of structure ceramics with special layer structure which 

can be machined. It has both the excellent properties of metal and ceramic. Similar to 

metal, it has the advantages of good electrical and thermal conductivity, machinability, 

high damage tolerance and thermal shock resistance. Similar to ceramics, it has high 

modulus of elasticity, high temperature resistance, oxidation resistance and corrosion 

resistance. Based on the above advantages, Ti2SnC ceramics may be widely used 

as matrix or reinforcement in aviation, aerospace, weapons and equipment, nuclear 

industry, electronic information and other high-tech fields. Although Ti2SnC ceramics 

has excellent comprehensive properties and broad application prospects, the preparation 

of this material is difficult and the purity is difficult to control, so the application of Ti2SnC 

ceramics is limited. As described in the literature (J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 96, No. 10, 2013), 

Ti2SnC ceramics containing FexSny, Sn and TiC were obtained by adopting Fe as sintering 

assistant agent and hot-pressing element mixing powder at 1150 °C and 50 MPa for 10 h. 

As described in literature (J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 99, No.7, 2016), Ti, Sn and graphite were 

used as raw materials and sintered at 1600 °C in a tube furnace with argon atmosphere 

for 4 h to obtain Ti2SnC ceramics containing Sn and TiC impurities. The preparation method 

described above has a long sintering time, and the impurities TiC and FexSny generated are 

difficult to remove, which has a very adverse effect on the properties of Ti2SnC ceramics. 

Therefore, the preparation of high purity Ti2SnC ceramics is of great significance for the 

wide application of this material. At present, the preparation of high purity Ti2SnC ceramics 

has not been reported publicly.