MORPHOLOGICAL AND STRUCTURAL STUDIES OF MECHANICALLY ALLOYED TI44C56 POWDERS

The mechanical alloying process has been employed successfully for pre paring nanocrystalline titanium carbide (TIG) alloy powders. This proc ess was performed in a high-energy ball mill under an argon atmosphere at room temperature. The mechanically reacted powders have been chara cterized as a function of the milling time by means of X-ray diffracti on, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. A single phase of NaCl-type Ti44C56 alloy powders is formed after ver y short milling time (20 ks). The end product of the milled powders ar e uniform in size (less than 0.5 mu m in diameter) and homogeneous in shape (almost spherical). Moreover, the fabricated Ti44C56 alloy powde rs have extremely fine cell-like structure, being of about of 3 nm. Th e presence of free Ti and/or C (reactant materials) in the end product could not be detected. These results demonstrate that the mechanical alloying process can provide a powerful tool for the fabrication of TI C alloy powders al room temperature.