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Review
. 2023 Jul 28;9(8):e18303.
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e18303. eCollection 2023 Aug.

Overview of structural, electronic, elastic, thermal, optical, and nuclear properties of Zr2AC (A= Al, Si, P, S, Ge, As, Se In, Sn, Tl, and Pb) MAX phases: A brief review

Dumooa R Hussein  1 , Khalid K Abbas  1 , Ahmed M H Abdulkadhim Al-Ghaban  1
Affiliations
Review

Overview of structural, electronic, elastic, thermal, optical, and nuclear properties of Zr2AC (A= Al, Si, P, S, Ge, As, Se In, Sn, Tl, and Pb) MAX phases: A brief review

Dumooa R Hussein et al. Heliyon. .

Abstract

The Zr2AC MAX phases are a family of ternary carbides ceramics that possess layered structures and exhibiting exceptional properties resulting from combining the most desirable features of metals and ceramics. In addition, the Zr2AC MAX-phases exhibit numerous physical and chemical properties due to their chemical and structural characteristics, a tendency for multiple basal dislocations and exhibiting mobility under ambient conditions. This review extensively analyzes the properties of the Zr2AC MAX phase, as they are closely linked to the exceptional and potential applications of the MAX phase. For the first time, the present study analyzed various properties of Zr2AC MAX phases, including structural, electronic, elastic, thermal, optical, self-healing, nuclear, oxidation, and corrosion characteristics. Furthermore, this review included experimental and theoretical work with comparison. It's found that the Zr2AC lattice parameters a and c are deviations theoretically from 0.1 to 2% and 0.15-2.87% compared with experimental work. Also, the Zr2AC MAX phases are metallic characters and the conductivity differs depending on the type of the Zr2AC(different A element) MAX phases. Its concluded that the Zr2AC MAX phases are stiff, isotropic elastic properties and high machinability with damage tolerance and hardness levels ranging from 3.5 to 13.02 Gpa. The Zr2AC MAX phases are also resistant to corrosion, thermal shock, and oxidation as well as lightweight. In addition, at elevated temperatures the transition from brittle to plastic behavior can be occurred in the Zr2AC MAX phase. The Zr2AC MAX phase's optical properties are anisotropic such as electrical conductivity and mechanical properties. This review study provides a comprehensive details assisting researches to deal with Zr2AC MAX phase potentially for different applications.

Keywords: Ceramic; MAX phase; Structural properties; Zr2AC applications; Zr2AC properties.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The structures of crystal of MAX phase (a) 211, (b) 312, (c) 413 and (d) Periodic Table of Elements Displaying MAX Phases. *(a–c) Drawing using the Materials Project website, Database version 2020_09_08. Powered by Pymatgen version 2022.0.8, combined with the VESTA program (Visualization for Electronic and Structural Analysis ver. 3.5.7, build data: Jan 7, 2021, copyright (c) 2006–2020 by Koichi Momma and Fugio -Izumi). In addition to the periodic table, Fig. 1 (d) was created by using 2023 Science Notes and Projects, Designed by Press Customizer.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The structure of the Zr2AC MAX phase. * Drawing using the Materials Project website, Database version 2020_09_08. Powered by Pymatgen version 2022.0.8 and combined with the VESTA program (Visualization for Electronic and Structural Analysis ver.3.5.7, build data: Jan 7, 2021, copyright (c) 2006–2020 by Koichi Momma and Fugio -Izumi).
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Characteristics of the MAX phase ceramics [31].
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
The Zr2AC (A = Al, Si, P, S, Ge, As, Se In, Sn, Tl, and Pb) crystal structural MAX phase where (a) Zr2ALC MAX phase, (b), Zr2SiC MAX phase,(c) Zr2PC MAX phase (d) Zr2SC MAX phase (e) Zr2GeC MAX phase, (f) Zr2AsC MAX phase,(g) Zr2SeC MAX phase,(h) Zr2InC MAX phase,(i) Zr2SnAC MAX phase,(j) Zr2TlC MAX phase, (k) Zr2PbC MAX phase,(l) Zr2CdC MAX phase. * Drawing using the Materials Project website, Database version 2020_09_08. Powered by Pymatgen version 2022.0.8 and combined with the VESTA program (Visualization for Electronic and Structural Analysis ver.3.5.7, build data:Jan 7, 2021, copyright (c) 2006–2020 by Koichi Momma and Fugio -Izumi).
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Zr2PbC structure parameters with pressure dependence (a) lattice constant a and ratio c/a (b) lattice constant c (c) volume of the unit cell V (d) normalize lattice parameter c/c0 plus a/a0 with the volume of unit cell V/V0 and (f) The Zm with operating pressure relation [55].
Fig. 6 (a–d)
Fig. 6 (a–d)
TDOS by Kang (2013) where A (blue line), C (green line), and Zr (red line) orbitals at (a) Zr2AlC, (b) Zr2SiC, (c) Zr2PC, and (d) Zr2SC [39] and DOS of MAX phase by Ahams et al., (2020) (e) Zr2InC (f) Zr2PbC (g) Zr2SnC (h) Zr2TlC [28]. Vertical lines with dashes indicate EF. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
The TDOS at EF as an indicator for electrons (e) a number of p orbital of the A element of Zr2AC MAX phase [38].
Fig. 8
Fig. 8
The DOS under pressure at 0–100 Gpa, EF is the vertical dotted line [55].
Fig. 9
Fig. 9
The change of the MAX phases bulk modulus with A element depending on the electron density of the p orbital [38].
Fig. 10
Fig. 10
Pressure(p) change effect (0–100) GPa on (a) the B, G, G/B, and E of Zr2PbC (b) ν Zr2PbC and (c) HV of Zr2PbC [55]. Poisson Ratio HV (GPa).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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