Reaction Behavior of Porous TiAl3 Intermetallics Fabricated by Thermal Explosion with Different Particle Sizes

Abstract

Porous TiAl3 intermetallics were prepared by the thermal explosion (TE) and space holder method with different particle sizes of Ti and Al powders, and their reaction behaviors were investigated. The results showed that with the increase in the particle size of the Ti and Al powders, the interfacial contact between the particles decreased, resulting in low interfacial energy and reaction activity, making the process difficult to initiate. Meanwhile, the heat flow rose from 358.37 J/g to 730.17 J/g and 566.74 J/g due to the extension of the solid–liquid diffusion time. The TiAl3 structures obviously expanded, and the formation of connected pore channels promoted the porosity. Only when the Ti and Al particle sizes were both small did the solid–solid diffusion significantly appear. At the same time, the TE reaction weakened, so the product particles had no time to fully grow. This indicates that the particle size of the raw materials controlled the TE reaction process by changing the solid–liquid diffusion reaction time and the degree of solid-phase diffusion.