Rapid microwave-assisted synthesis of zirconium aluminide
Résumé
Here we show a fast and direct zirconium aluminide alloys manufacturing process using the microwave-assisted technique. The rapid microwave-assisted synthesis was performed using two different starting precursors (Zr and ZrH2) revealing the ZrAl3 phase as the main phase formation, with a small percentage of ZrAl2. The phase formation and their percentages were evaluated and confirmed by combining X-ray diffraction and chemical analysis data. In addition, the scanning electron microscopy revealed that the bodies based on ZrH2 samples showed smaller particle size compared with the Zr ones. This was attributed to the microwave radiation concentration that might lead several dehydrogenation sites to generate a non-homogeneity reducing the particle. These findings provide a novel, rapid and versatile method to design zirconium aluminide alloys according to the desired application by controlling the starting precursors (Zr or ZrH2) and microwave exposure time.