Study of formation behavior of TiC in the Fe-Ti-C system during combustion synthesis

TiC particles were prepared in situ by self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) reaction in the Fe-Ti-C elemental powder mixture. The reaction behavior and formation route of synthesizing TiC in the Fe-Ti-C system were investigated. With Fe contents increasing, the adiabatic temperatures, reaction temperatures and TiC particles sizes obviously decreased. The addition of Fe promotes the reaction between Ti and C through a “bridging” effect. Fe plays an important role in controlling the reaction behavior and morphology of products, serving not only as a diluent to inhibit the TiC particles from growing, but also as an intermediate reactant to promote the reaction.