Rapid dehydrogenation of TiH2 and its effect on formation mechanism of TiC during self-propagation high-temperature synthesis from TiH2–C system

•We synthesized TiC using lower-cost TiH2 instead of metallic Ti;•We achieved the simultaneous rapid dehydrogenation of TiH2 and synthesis of TiC;•TiH2 produced the lower ignition temperature and finer grains than Ti;•Significantly improved mechanical properties were obtained with the use of TiH2

Single-phase TiC was rapidly synthesized by self-propagation high-temperature synthesis (SHS) reaction of TiH2–C powder blends without preliminary dehydrogenation. TiH2 resulted in lower ignition temperature, finer TiC particles and lower impurity contents than Ti. In addition, the mechanical properties of bulk TiC material made from TiH2–C were significantly improved. These were closely related to dehydrogenation of TiH2 during the ignition of SHS.

Graphical abstract(a) DSC curves of TiH2–C, Ti–C and TiH2 systems, which were heated to 1300 °C at 40 °C/min and (b) XRD spectra for each corresponding DSC sampleFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide