Capillary interaction of copper melt with dense and porous MAX phase (Cr, Mn)2AlC

In the present work, we experimentally studied the interaction of a pure copper melt with a dense MAX-phase (Cr, Mn)₂AlC after sintering by the electric pulse plasma method and a porous phase obtained by pressing at room temperature. The porous phase (20 % porosity) absorbs molten copper at temperatures above 1200 °C; the kinetics of absorption was directly measured using high-speed thermal and video cameras. The experiments were carried out in a vacuum of 10–3 Pa. Studies using scanning electron microscopy, EDX spectral analysis and X-ray diffraction have shown that a chemical interaction of the MAX-phase with a copper melt occurs with the formation of a solution of aluminum and chromium in copper and the decomposition of the MAX-phase to chromium carbides (stable or metastable). The dense, sintered sample also actively interacts with the melt, although the contact angles exceed 100°. The difference between porous and dense samples lies in the kinetics of interaction. The results were compared with experiments on wetting the Cr₂AlC MAX-phase with a Cu (0.8 at.% Cr) melt conducted earlier. The described experimental conditions and the results of determining chemical and phase changes in the process of capillary interaction indicate the possibility of creating a composite material with a submicron structure of chromium carbide impregnated with aluminum bronze.