Titanium carbide (TiC) is an extremely hard and refractory ceramic material similar to tungsten carbide. It is a chemical compound with a cubic system, and it has the appearance of black powder.
The crystalline structure of TiC is similar to that of sodium chloride, but it crystallizes with a face-centered cubic lattice constant of 432.8 pm. It is insoluble in water and has high chemical stability, but it reacts little with hydrochloric acid or sulfuric acid.
TiC is widely used as a thermal spray coating powder, welding material, flinty membranous material, military aviation material, hard alloy, and cermet. It can be applied in the field of oil exploration, aerospace, mining excavation, machinery tools, marine facilities, etc.
A method is disclosed for synthesizing titanium carbide, nitride or carbonitride by placing particles of titanium, a titanium salt or titanium dioxide within a vessel and providing a carbon-containing atmosphere within the vessel. The particles are then heated to a pyrolysis temperature sufficient to pyrolyze the carbon. The resulting titanium carbide, nitride and carbonitride are then cooled and reacted to form a solid solution.
X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and laser Raman spectroscopy investigations were performed to characterize the microstructure of the titanium carbide sheets prepared via a selective extraction of Al from the precursor Ti2AlC. These studies indicate the presence of oxygen and fluorinated functional groups attached to the surface of the layered titanium carbide sheets.
