Self-ignition combustion synthesis of TiFe in hydrogen atmosphere

This paper describes the self-ignition combustion synthesis (SICS) of highly active titanium iron (TiFe) in a high-pressure hydrogen atmosphere without employing an activation process. In the experiments, well-mixed powders of Ti and Fe in the molar ratio of 1:1 were uniformly heated up to 1085 °C, the eutectic temperature of Ti–Fe binary system, in pressurized hydrogen at 0.9 MPa. The electric source was disconnected immediately after the ignition between Ti and Fe, and the mixture was cooled naturally. In this study, the exothermic reaction Ti + Fe = TiFe + 40 kJ occurred at around 1085 °C after the hydrogenation and decomposition of Ti. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the final product had only one phase—TiFeH_0.06—which can store hydrogen of 1.55 mass% under hydrogen pressure of 4 MPa. The product obtained by SICS contained considerably more hydrogen quickly as compared to the commercially available product; this fact can be explained by the porous structure of the obtained product, which was observed using a scanning electron microscope. In conclusion, the SICS of TiFe saved time and energy, yields products with high porosity and small crystals, enabled easy hydrogenation, and did not require activation processes.