Rapid synthesis of MoAlB ceramic via thermal explosion

Abstract Ceramics with high MoAlB content were rapidly synthesized via thermal explosion by using Mo/Al/B mixed powders as the raw materials. The effects of raw material ratio and heating mode on the phase composition of the products were studied through DSC, X-ray polycrystalline diffractometer, and SEM. Results showed that ceramics with high MoAlB contents could be prepared from 1.1Mo/1.2Al/1.05B powders by using a tubular furnace at 800 °C for 1 min. They could also be obtained from 1.1Mo/1.1Al/1B powders through spark plasma sintering at 1000 °C without holding. Finally, the reaction mechanism of MoAlB material synthesis via thermal explosion was proposed on the basis of thermodynamics analysis.