Pulse Electric Current–Aided Reactive Sintering of High‐Purity Zr 3 Al 3 C 5

Herein, we report on the in situ reactive synthesis and simultaneous densification of a high‐purity ternary Zr 3 Al 3 C 5 phase via pulse electric current sintering ( PECS ) of Zr / Al /graphite powder mixtures with a molar ratio of 3:3.2:4.8. The phases and microstructure evolution in the 580°C–1800°C temperature range were characterized by X ‐ray diffraction, real‐time sintering curves, and a scanning electron microscope equipped with an energy dispersive spectroscope. An additive‐free, fully dense Zr 3 Al 3 C 5 compound was obtained at 1800°C using a load corresponding to a stress of 35 MPa for 20 min. The final product was comprised of 96.61 wt% Zr 3 Al 3 C 5 , 3.14 wt% ZrC , and 0.25 wt% Zr 2 Al 3 C 4 ; the relative density was 97%.