Activation Energy and Mechanism of the Molybdenum Disilicide Sintering Process

— This paper presents dilatometric analysis data for the sintering of off-the-shelf molybdenum disilicide (MoSi 2 ) powder prepared by magnesiothermic synthesis. We have obtained continuous shrinkage curves for MoSi 2 powder compacts with an initial relative density of 70% at different heating rates: 5, 10, 20, and 30°C/min. From a quantitative analysis of densification curves for the compacts, the activation energy for the initial stage of sintering has been determined to be Q = 695 kJ/mol. It has been shown that the dominant process in the initial stage of MoSi 2 powder sintering is volume diffusion from grain boundaries and surfaces.