Synthesis, Structure and Properties of Material Based on V2AlC MAX Phase

Abstract–A material based on the V2AlC MAX phase has been obtained for the first time by the method of self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) using a reaction mixture of vanadium oxide(V) and (IV) powders with aluminum and carbon (graphite). The obtained material was characterized by X-ray diffraction and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The Rietveld method was used to perform quantitative analysis. The synthesized material based on the V2AlC MAX phase is an electrical conductor that demonstrates the metallic behavior of conductivity in the entire measured temperature range of 300–1300 K in the vacuum of 2 × 10–3 Pa. It has been suggested that the V2AlC phase makes a decisive contribution to the electrical resistance of the synthesized material that may be caused by the formation of V2AlC nanolaminate grains contacting with each other in the bulk of the material.