Effect of Mg Content on Synthesis of TiC Powder from Leucoxene by Self-Propagating High-Temperature Synthesis Method

Titanium carbide (TiC) composite powder was synthesized via the self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) method using leucoxene as a source of titanium oxide (TiO2) and magnesium (Mg) as an initiator. The effect of Mg content on synthesized TiC composite powder was characterized in terms of chemical composition and morphology by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. Results showed that adding 1.5 moles Mg into the reactant system leached with 0.1 M hydrochloric acid solution was the optimal condition, and TiC was apparent in the XRD analysis at a particle size of less than 150 μm.