Mechanochemical synthesis of nanostructured titanium carbide from industrial Fe-Ti

Carbides of Ti have been synthesized directly from industrial ferrotitanium (Fe-Ti) for the first time through high energy mechanical milling and heat treatment. Powders of Fe-Ti mixed with graphite were milled in a planetary ball mill for varying durations between 10 and 40 h. The milled mixtures were subsequently heat treated at 1000 degrees C for 15 min. The as-milled and heat treated powders were characterized by using SEM-EDX and XRD techniques. With SEM images agglomeration of the particles was noticed with prolonged milling. Formation of carbides of Ti was detected by XRD even in as-milled powders at the early stage of milling. The crystallite size of the carbides gradually decreased with progress in milling. It was demonstrated that nanostructured TiC could be successfully synthesized under suitable processing conditions using industrial grade Fe-Ti as a readily available and cheap raw material. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.