Scalable Manufacturing of 10 nm TiC Nanoparticles through Molten Salt Reaction

Titanium carbide (TiC) nanoparticles have great potential for strengthening metals as TiC has high hardness, high Young's modulus, good conductivity and excellent wear resistance. To enable effective Orowan strengthening effect, smaller TiC nanoparticles (e.g. < 10 nm) are highly preferred. However, small TiC nanoparticles (< 10 nm) are not available in market. Current production methods either cannot produce such small TiC nanoparticles or cannot manufacture nanoparticles in large scale. Here we explored a molten salt based reaction method that can manufacture TiC nanoparticles below 10 nm. Diamond nanoparticles were used as the carbon source and reaction template. Titanium powders dissolve in molten salt and deposit on the diamond nanoparticles and then reacts with diamond to form TiC nanoparticles. This method provides a simple and inexpensive pathway to manufacture TiC nanoparticles below 10 nm and opens up the opportunity for making high performance metal matrix nanocomposites (MMNCs) reinforced by TiC nanoparticles.