Carbothermic reduction synthesis of Ti(C, N) powder in the presence of molten salt

In the presence of sodium chloride (NaCl), Ti(C, N) powder was successfully obtained by the carbothermal reduction of TiO2 in lab-scale experiments. The effects of NaCl addition and reaction temperature on the formation of the powder were studied in the temperature range of 1100–1600 °C, the reaction time used in all cases was 3 h. The final powder was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electron probe microanalysis (EPMA). The results indicated that addition of NaCl played a facilitating role in the formation process of Ti(C, N). Ti(C, N) was detected at 1100–1200 °C, and the yield of powder was purer at about 1300 °C when 10 wt.% NaCl was added. The as-prepared Ti(C, N) was uniform in shape and the particle size was about 5–8 μm. With increasing temperature, the residual carbon content in the products decreased but the degree of oxidation increased at temperatures above 1300 °C. The possible mechanism involved in the reactions was discussed.