Influence of plasma modification of titanium carbide powder on its sintering properties

摘要

Powders injected into a thermal plasma, which is characterized by its high enthalpy and the presence of chemically active species, are subjected to modifications of their size [1], morphology [2], chemical composition [3] and crystal structure [1, 2] in a short time, of the order of tens of milliseconds. The process is known as "in-flight plasma powder treatment". Ishigaki and his co-investigators [3] have shown that compositional and lattice modifications of nonstoichiometric titanium carbide powders can be achieved by RF induction plasma treatment. The process involved the removal of carbon atoms and the subsequent formation of carbon site vacancies. These were mostly formed near the surface of the particle resulting in increased reactivity of the powder and the incorporation of oxygen on its lattice.