Spark Plasma Synthesis/Sintering of Dense Ceramic, Intermetallic and Composite Materials

Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) represents a very attractive technique for the obtainment of dense materials including nanostructured ones. SPS basically consists in the simultaneous application of a pulsed DC current and an uniaxial mechanical load through a powder compact. Other than providing rapid Joule heating and likely enhancing mass transport through electromigration, the imposed pulsed high current is also reported to generate a plasma within the voids surrounding the powder particles, thus facilitating the removal of oxides surface layers that may hinder the sintering process. Selected results obtained through SPS in our laboratory for the preparation of a wide variety of materials, i.e. TiC-TiB2, MgB2, and NbAl3, will be presented in this work. Specifically, all the chosen examples are related to the use of the SPS technique for obtaining the desired material by simultaneously performing synthesis and consolidation stages in one-step.