| Abstract Scope |
MAB phases are an emerging family of ternary metal borides exhibiting unique material properties due to their nano-laminated crystal structure. Analogous to the well-known MAX phase ceramics which have shown great promise as materials for extreme environments, MAB phases are composed of a transition metal (M), aluminium (A) and boron (B). While five out of six MAB phase systems have been explored recently, the remaining MAB phase, WAlB, has been mostly neglected due to synthesis difficulties. This work investigates the conditions under which tungsten forms a solid solution with the MoAlB MAB phase, which is isostructural with WAlB and is readily produced by pressureless sintering. Findings from initial experiments on the system (Mo<sub>1-x</sub>W<sub>x</sub>)AlB with x = 0–1 will be presented. XRD was used to identify optimal synthesis conditions and quantitative phase analysis performed by Rietveld refinement was critical to the deconvolution of isostructural Mo and W containing phases. |