Discrete One-Stage Mechanochemical Synthesis of Titanium-Nitride in a High-Energy Mill

Abstract

Discrete (discontinuous) mechanochemical synthesis of titanium nitride was experimentally investigated. The experimental results show that mechanical activation intensifies the chemical conversion in the Ti-N system, and the discrete synthesis of the final product is conducted under “soft” controlled conditions without high heat release. The new theory of mechanochemical synthesis and the mathematical model based on it were used for theoretical evaluation of the dynamics of titanium activation in the nitrogen medium. It was found that the discrete mode of synthesis includes two factors accelerating mechanochemical reactions in the Ti-N synthesis: structural (grinding of metallic reagent and formation of interfacial areas) and kinetic (accumulation of excess energy stored in the formed structural defects in metallic reagent). The kinetic constants of the process were found using experimental data and the inverse problem method. The diagrams defining the controlled modes of obtaining titanium nitride particles with the given characteristics were constructed. A mathematical model for theoretical estimation of the dynamics of activation of titanium powder in the nitrogen medium was developed using a new macrokinetic theory of mechanochemical synthesis.