Microstructure development of in situ porous TiO/Cu composites

An in situ porous TiO/Cu composite is successfully prepared using powder metallurgy by the reaction of Ti2CO and Cu powder. Ti2CO powder is produced by the carbothermic reduction of titanium dioxide (TiO2) at 1000 °C. Morphological examination of the composite shows that the porosity of composites lies in the range between 10.2% and 35.2%. As the volume fraction of TiO increases, the size of TiO becomes more fine. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the fracture morphology indicates that TiO particles and the Cu matrix are connected by a Cu-Ti phase.