Carbon reduction of Ti3AlC2 phase for TiC nanosheet production

In this study, we investigated the formation of TiC nanosheets from carbon black and Ti3AlC2 mixtures in NaCl-KCl eutectic salt. The effects of raw material ratio, molten salt ratio, and heating temperature on TiC formation were studied in detail. Results show that carbon black may enhance the decomposition of amounts of Ti3AlC2 at 1,100°C by heat treatment without salt addition, while molten salt plays key roles in the total decomposition of Ti3AlC2 and the formation of TiC nanosheets at 1,000°C. Higher heating temperature and excess carbon black benefits the synthesis of high content TiC. The as-synthesized TiC nanosheets are approximately 15 nm thick and 80-220 nm long. We propose a possible reaction mechanism that governs TiC formation in molten salts and explain the observations based on kinetic considerations.