TY - JOUR AB - Using a synergistic combination of experimental and computational methods, we shed light on the unusual solubility of (Cr,Ti)3AlC2 MAX phase, showing that it may accommodate Cr only at very low concentrations (<2 at%) or at the exact Cr/(Cr + Ti) ratio of 2/3, even when the ratio of reactants is far from this stoichiometry (1/2 ≤ Cr/(Cr + Ti) ≤ 5/6). In both phases, Cr exclusively occupies the 4f sites, bridging carbide layers with the Al layer. Despite this, the peculiar stability of (Cr2/3Ti1/3)3AlC2 is attributed to the formation of strong, spin-polarized Cr–C bonds, which result in volume reduction and a marked increase in c/a ratio. IMPACT STATEMENT Solubility of Cr and Ti in (Cr,Ti)3AlC2 was investigated using experimental and DFT techniques. It was also determined that (Cr2/3Ti1/3)3AlC2 owe its remarkable stability to the formation strong Cr–C bonds. AU - Burr,PA AU - Horlait,D AU - Lee,WE DO - 10.1080/21663831.2016.1222598 EP - 157 PY - 2016/// SN - 2166-3831 SP - 144 TI - Experimental and DFT investigation of (Cr,Ti)<inf>3</inf>AlC<inf>2</inf> MAX phases stability T2 - Materials Research Letters UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21663831.2016.1222598 UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/41555 VL - 5 ER -