Development of Rapid Synthesis Method of MAX Phase Composites by Combination of Induction Heating and Self-Propagating High-Temperature Synthesis

MXene, a two-dimensional layered material, is expected to be applied in a wide variety of fields. Generally, MXene is prepared by etching MAX phase. Therefore, it is very important for MXene research to develop a low-cost and simple method to synthesize the MAX phase. In most cases, the MAX phase is synthesized by high-temperature heating at around 1500°C under high pressure. Hot-pressing, spark plasma sintering, and other methods are used to satisfy these synthesis conditions, but they are specialized, expensive, and sometimes require several hours to synthesize the MAX phase. Therefore, it is desirable to develop a simple, low-cost and rapid synthesis method.<br/><br/>We have developed an original, low-cost and simple MAX-phase synthesis equipment by combination of the induction heating (IH) and the self-propagating high-temperature synthesis method. The IH method can rapidly heat a sample in a carbon crucible up to about 2000°C. This rapid heating induces local chemical reactions. The heat of the chemical reaction then propagates throughout the sample and then the MAX phase is synthesized. We have tried to synthesize two types of MAX phases using this equipment. One is Ti₃AlC₂ and the other is V₂AlC. XRD measurements and SEM observations showed that both MAX phases were successfully synthesized. It should be noted that this method can synthesize both in vacuum and in inert gas atmosphere. And it took less than a minute from the start of heating to the end of synthesis. These results indicate that this method is one of the candidates for a low-cost, simple, and rapid MAX phase synthesis method that can be applied to various types of MAX phase synthesis.