Synthesis and Characterization of Mechanically Alloyed Nanostructured (Ti,Cr)C Carbide for Cutting Tools Application

(Ti,Cr)C is a novel additive for high-performance cermets. In this work, a (Ti0.8Cr0.2)C nanostructured solid solution was synthesized via Mechanical Alloying (MA) from the mixture of of Ti, Cr, and C powders. The MA process was carried out at room temperature under argon atmosphere with a duration limited to 20 h. Phase changes and microstructure evolution of the powders during the MA process were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. The results of XRD analysis demonstrated the synthesis of (Ti,Cr)C solid solution with a crystallite size of about 10 nm that were micro-strained to about 1.34%. The crystallite size displays a decreasing trend with increasing milling time. The results of direct observations of structural features by TEM method in 20 h MAed samples shows a good agreement with the results from the XRD analyses.