Dense nanostructured materials obtained by spark plasma sintering and field activated pressure assisted synthesis starting from mechanically activated powder mixtures

The preparation of highly dense bulk materials with a grain size in the range of a few to a few hundreds nanometers is currently the objective of numerous studies. In our research we have achieved a measure of success in this regard by using the methods of mechanically-Activated, Field-A ctivated,Pressure- Assisted Synthesis, MAFAPAS, which has been patented, and Mechanically- Activated SparkPplasma Sintering, MASPS. Both methods, which consist of the combination of a mechanical activation step followed by a consolidation step under the simultaneous influence of an electric field and mechanical pressure, have led to the formation of dense nanostructured ceramics, intermetallics, and composites, such as, MoSi2, FeAl, NbAl3, and TiN-TiB2. In this report, both one-step synthesis-consolidation and sintering of different nanostructured materials by SPS and FAPAS were investigated.