Abstract
Titanium carbide has attracted widespread attention due to its excellent properties. This study investigates the process of carbon thermally reducing TiO2 to prepare TiC through a combination of thermodynamic analysis and experiments. The effects of temperature, TiO2/C molar ratio, and time on the phase transformation and morphology evolution of the products are investigated. The synthesis of titanium carbide involves the main reduction path of TiO2−Magnéli−Ti3O5−Ti2O3−TiCxO1−x. With the increase in reaction temperature and TiC content, the microstructure transitions from a smooth disc-like structure to a loose and porous layered structure, while the particle size decreases significantly. The carburisation rate of the reduced product is more affected by temperature, according to chemical analysis. The carburisation rate increased from 18.37% to 36.09% for 2 h−10 h of holding time at 1400 °C, and from 51.43% to 77.57% for 2 h−10 h of holding time at 1500 °C. The quantification of the carburisation rate provides a valuable reference for the preparation of titanium carbide by TiO2.