A Review of Processes for Synthesis of Nanostructured TiC

Titanium carbide (TiC) is a technologically important material, which is used in industrial and engineering applications as an abrasive, a wear-resistant material, reinforcement in composites, as well as an electrocatalysis material. This review summarizes the state-of-the-art processes for the synthesis of TiC, for instance, carbothermal reduction, combustion reactions, sol–gel processing, gas phase reaction, and mechanical alloying. Moreover, this review updates the various processes used for the synthesis of nanostructured titanium carbide and its process mechanisms. Nanostructured titanium carbide can be synthesized through optimizing thermal reduction processes, using more reactive titanium-containing precursors, a gas phase reaction or mechanical alloying processes. Under these reaction conditions, reactants are more reactive to overcome the kinetic barriers and the reaction processes proceed at a much lower temperature or have a shorter duration. The sol–gel process allows the formation of nanostructured TiC at a relatively low temperature due to the high reactivity of the sol–gel precursors. Mechanical alloying processing is a versatile method to produce nanostructured TiC. Gas phase processing allows nanostructured TiC formed in particles or in films. Nanostructured TiC has the potential to enhance the performance of TiC as a technological material, which is attractive for various applications in industrial and engineering fields.