Synthesis of Stoichiometric Titanium Carbide by a Combination of Carbothermal Reduction and Molten Salt Method and Its Characterization

A novel method of preparing stoichiometric titanium carbide (TiC) powders was present by combining carbothermal reduction and molten salt synthesis (MSS) from raw materials of titanium oxide (anatase), C (carbon black), and sodium chloride. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), laser particle size analysis, energy spectrum analysis (EDS), and thermodynamic analysis were used to characterize the powders. The effects of heating temperatures and molar ratios of titania to carbon black on the preparation of TiC were discussed. Results show that the use of MSS reduces the synthesis temperatures of both stoichiometric and pure TiC from 1700 °C to 1550 °C and the time required for synthesis decreases from 10 h for conventional carbothermal reduction of TiO2 to 3 h. A dissolution-precipitation mechanism of synthesis of TiC by MSS was established based on these observed results.