Powder characteristics, sinterability, and mechanical properties of TiB 2 prepared by three reduction methods

Reaction processes, powder characteristics, sinterability, and mechanical properties of TiB 2 prepared by borothermal reduction, B 4 C reduction, and boro/carbothermal reduction were compared. Results showed that TiBO 3 and Ti 2 O 3 as the intermediate phases existed in the three reduction processes. The temperature where TiB 2 became major phase was lowest during borothermal reduction, resulting in the finest TiB 2 particle size, in contrast to the other two methods, especially boro/carbothermal reduction. However, TiB 2 powders prepared by B 4 C reduction and boro/carbothermal reduction after pressureless sintering at 1800°C for 2 hours showed the relatively higher sinterability, due to the lower oxygen content and higher carbon content. Finally, using 5 wt% Ni as sintering additive, hot‐pressed TiB 2 ceramics from B 4 C reduction demonstrated higher densification, more fine‐grained microstructure and higher mechanical properties, due to the better balance of oxygen/carbon content.