Low-Temperature High-Efficiency Preparation of TiB₂ Micro-Platelets <i>via</i> Boro/Carbothermal Reduction in Microwave Heated Molten Salt

• Main Authors: Jie Liu, Jianghao Liu, Yuan Zeng, Haijun Zhang, Zhi Li
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-08-01
• Series: Materials
• Subjects: TiB₂; hexagonal microplatelet; microwave heating; molten-salt synthesis
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/12/16/2555
• ISSN: 1996-1944

A molten-salt and microwave co-facilitated boro/carbothermal reduction methodology was developed for low temperature high-efficiency synthesis of TiB₂ powders. By using relatively inexpensive titanium oxide (TiO₂), boron carbide (B₄C) and amorphous carbon (C) as raw materials, single-phase TiB₂ powders were prepared after 60 min at as low as 1150 &#176;C or after only 20 min at 1200 &#176;C. Such synthesis conditions were remarkably milder than those required by the conventional reduction routes using the identical reducing agent. As-synthesized TiB₂ powders exhibited single-crystalline nature and well-grown hexagonal-platelet-like morphology. The achievement of low temperature high-efficiency preparation of high-quality TiB₂ microplatelets in the present work was mainly attributable to the synergistic effects of molten-salt medium and microwave heating.