Three‐Dimensional Printing of Ti ₃ SiC ₂ ‐Based Ceramics

In the present work, we explored the feasibility of fabricating Ti 3 SiC 2 ‐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 ≈23 μm) and intraagglomerate pores ( d ≈1 μm). Upon infiltration in Ar atmosphere at 1600°–1700°C for 1 h, silicon melt infiltrated the pores and reacted with TiC to yield Ti 3 SiC 2 , TiSi 2, and SiC. The effects of silicon content and infiltration temperature on the phase composition of the Ti 3 SiC 2 ‐based composites were also studied. After LSI at 1700°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 μΩ·cm, respectively.