Introduction to Titanium Carbide
The chemical formula of titanium carbide is TiC, the molecular weight is 59.89, and it is a gray metal-like solid with a face-centered cubic lattice. The melting point of titanium carbide is 3140±90°C, the boiling point is 4820°C, the relative density is 4.93, and the hardness is greater than 9.
Titanium carbide is insoluble in water but soluble in nitric acid and aqua regia. It is stable to air when it is lower than 800℃, it is corroded by air when it is higher than 2000℃, and it can react with pure oxygen when it is 1150℃.
The mixture of titanium powder and carbon obtained by reducing TiO2 by hydrogen is acted at high temperature, or TiO2 and carbon powder are mixed and pressed into agglomerates, and then heated to 2300-2700°C in an electric furnace and carbonized in H2 or CO atmosphere.
Titanium carbide can be used to make hard alloys, and can also be used as electrodes and abrasives for arc lamps.
Several preparation methods of titanium carbide
Carbothermic reduction method
Use carbon black to reduce TiO2, the reaction temperature range is 1700-2100℃, and the chemical reaction formula is:
TiO2(s)+3C(s)=TiC(S)+2CO(g).
Direct carbonization
Ti powder and carbon powder react to generate TiC. The chemical reaction formula is: Ti(s)+C(s)=TiC. Because it is difficult to prepare sub-micron metal Ti powder, the application of this method is limited. The above reaction takes 5-20 hours to complete, and the reaction process is difficult to control. The reactants agglomerate seriously, and further grinding processing is required to prepare fine particles. Granular TiC powder. In order to obtain a purer product, it is necessary to chemically purify the fine powder after ball milling.
Chemical vapor deposition
The synthesis method utilizes the reaction between TiCl4, H2, and C. The reactant reacts with the hot tungsten or carbon monofilament, and TiC crystals grow directly on the monofilament. The TiC powder synthesized by this method has strict limits on its output and sometimes even its quality. In addition, due to TiCl4 and the product, The HCl contained in it is strongly corrosive, so be careful when synthesizing it.
Microwave method
Take Nano TiO2 and carbon black as raw materials, use the principle of the carbothermal reduction reaction, and use microwave energy to heat the material. In fact, it uses the dielectric loss of the material in the high-frequency electric field to convert microwave energy into heat energy, so that nano-TiO2 and carbon are synthesized into TiC.
Blast impact method
The titanium dioxide powder and the carbon powder are mixed in a certain proportion and pressed into a cylinder of Φ10mm×5mm to prepare the precursor, the density is 1.5g/cm3, and the laboratory is put into a metal constrained outer cylinder. Put it into a self-made airtight explosion container for the experiment, and collect the detonation ash after the explosion shock wave. After preliminary sieving, large impurities such as iron filings are removed, and black powder is obtained. The black powder becomes brown after being soaked in aqua regia for 24 hours, and finally put into a muffle furnace and calcined at 400°C for 400 minutes to obtain a silver-gray powder.
High-temperature self-propagating synthesis
(SHS) The SHS method is derived from an exothermic reaction. When heated to an appropriate temperature, the fine-grained Ti powder has high reactivity. Therefore, once the combustion wave generated after ignition passes through the reactants Ti and C, Ti and C will have enough reaction heat to generate TiC. The SHS method has a very fast reaction, usually less than one second. The synthesis method requires high-purity, fine Ti powder as raw material, and the output is limited.
Reaction ball milling technique
Reactive ball milling technology is a technology that uses the chemical reaction between metal or alloy powder and other elements or compounds in the ball milling process to prepare the required materials. The main equipment for preparing nanomaterials with reactive ball milling technology is a high-energy ball mill, which is mainly used to produce nanocrystalline materials. The reaction ball milling mechanism can be divided into two categories: one is mechanically induced self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) reaction, and the other is reaction ball milling without obvious exotherm, and the reaction process is slow.
Uses of titanium carbide
1. Used as additives for cutting tool materials and metal bismuth, zinc, and cadmium melting crucibles to prepare semiconductor wear-resistant films, HDD large-capacity memory devices.
2. It is an important component of cemented carbide, used as a deoxidizer in the steelmaking industry.
3. Used as cermet, it has the characteristics of high hardness, corrosion resistance, and good thermal stability.
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