Fabrication of Fe-Al Intermetallic Foams via Organic Compounds Assisted Sintering

The influence of the addition of organic compounds, such as palmitic acid and cholesteryl myristate, on the porous structure of Fe-Al intermetallics formation has been investigated in detail in this paper. It was found that additives have a significant effect on the final porosity of the obtained sinters. Formed gaseous products from combustion play the role of the foaming agent during Fe-Al intermetallic alloy sintering. The influence of these additives is also clearly noticeable in chemical composition changes of the final products through the increase of carbon content in the porous structure. This is attributed to the thermal decomposition, namely combustion, of the organic additives.