“…The method utilises an exothermic reaction initiated by an electric discharge within an inter-electrode space. The most promising results were obtained using SHS-produced tungsten-free hard alloy electrodes, such as TiC–Cr 3 C 2 –Ni, TiC–Ni, TiC–Ni, TiC–NiAl, TiC–Ti 3 AlC 2 , TiB 2 –TiAl, (Ti, Zr)C, et al [320,366]. It was found that the addition of refractory nano-powders (ZrO 2 , Al 2 O 3 , NbC, Si 3 N 4 , W, Mo, WC, WC–Co, and diamond) into an initial SHS mixture significantly modified the structure of electrode material and improved coating characteristics [367,368].…”