Synthesis of TiH2 powder from ilmenite using MgH2 under H2 atmosphere

•The TiH2 synthesized from TiCl4 with MgH2 in presence of H2 gas successfully.•Temperature and reaction time strongly affected the extent of reduction.•The phase analysis shows the formation of TiCl3 phase as an intermediate component.•The microstructure study revealed that reaction occurred at surface of MgH2 powder.•The morphology of the reduced powders showed the formation of TiH2 after 6 h. The present study introduces a novel method for synthesis titanium hydride (TiH2) powder at low-temperature from ilmenite for powder metallurgy. The ilmenite converted to titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4) gas through the chlorination process. Next, TiCl4 reacted with magnesium hydride at different times and temperatures to produce TiH2 under a hydrogen atmosphere. The phase and morphology analysis of the obtained powders were studied using X-Ray Diffraction and Scanning Electron Microscopy techniques. The results indicated that the increase of reaction time and temperature enhanced the formation of TiH2 powder, which is a promising method for low-cost titanium hydride powder production.