Combustion Synthesis of TiN Induced by High-energy Ball Milling of Ti Under Nitrogen Atmosphere

A planetary ball-mill device that enables one to perform solid-gas reactions at constant pressure was developed. Titanium powders were ball milled under nitrogen at a spinning rate of 960 rpm. The influence of the nitrogen pressure on the mechanochemical reactivity of titanium was analyzed at 1.5 and 11 bars. A spontaneous combustion took place during the grinding process, leading to a high yield of TiN for short milling times. The conversion of titanium into titanium nitride was facilitated by increasing the nitrogen pressure. At 11 bars, full conversion was reached for grinding times shorter than 5 h. Titanium nitride obtained in this way exhibited a high sintering activity.