Synthesis and Growth Mechanism of TiC Whiskers by Carbothermal Reduction of Titania/Microcrystalline Cellulose

TiC whiskers were synthesized by a typical chloride‐assisted carbothermal reduction method using microcrystalline cellulose as a novel carbon source. Unlike previous research, Faceted TiC whiskers on the titanium oxide particles (Ti 3 O 5 ) were epitaxially grown via vapor–solid mechanism without catalyst. Liquid–liquid separation was used for product purification. A 90–95 vol% yield of TiC whiskers was observed, with 0.5 μm in diameter and 40–60 μm in length. X‐ray diffraction study indicated that the lattice parameter of TiC increased (from 4.288 to 4.321 Å) with increasing the C/Ti ratio and sintering temperature. Preferred growth was found to be the [100] direction from the lattice‐resolved imaging. This study provided not only a new simple method for synthesizing TiC whiskers but also a new insight into the growth mode for TiC whiskers.