Reaction behaviors and specific exposed crystal planes manipulation mechanism of TiC nanoparticles

Abstract

Titanium carbide (TiC) nanoparticles with well‐designed exposed crystal planes perform intriguing prospects for functional and engineering applications. In this study, a simple and controllable in situ synthesis strategy was proposed for the synthesis of TiC nanoparticles with specific morphology. Reaction behaviors suggested that most of TiC nanoparticles were formed by an instantaneous reaction between Al3Ti and Al4C3 in the Al‐rich melt and the resultant morphology was controlled by the discrepant growing rates of (100) and (111) crystal planes. In addition, a growth morphology control model was presented for the prediction and manipulation of the morphology of TiC nanoparticles by the doping of different alloying elements Me (Me = Cu, Mg, Mn, Zn, and Si). According to the morphological observations and density functional theory analyses including the interface energy, charge density differences, and orbital hybridization: Cu, Mg, and Zn atoms could stabilize the Al/TiC(111) interface, whereas Mn and Si atoms promoted the rapid growing and disappearance of the TiC(111) planes in the Al melt. This work provides a feasible way to intelligently design and manipulate TiC nanoparticles with desirable exposed crystal planes, and exhibits a promising prospect for personalized applications.

Development Trend in Composition Optimization, Microstructure Manipulation, and Strengthening Methods of Die Steels under Lightweight and Integrated Die Casting

“…Adding trace nano-ceramic particles into the matrix has been proven to improve the strength and toughness of materials simultaneously [ 110 , 124 , 125 , 126 , 127 , 128 , 129 ], which is beneficial to control the uniformity of microstructure and composition of large-size ingots and solves the problem of uneven performance in various regions of large-size die steel. Furthermore, the comprehensive performance of die steel based on traditional strengthening methods can be improved.…”

“…Figure 9 is the preparation process of in situ TiC-TiB 2 dual-phase nano-ceramic particle-reinforced steel. In recent years, based on the self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS), the research group has used the prefabricated aluminum-based nano-ceramic particle master alloy as the carrier; the TiC-TiB 2 /Al master and TiC/Al master alloy were successfully prepared [ 125 , 126 , 127 , 128 ]. The TiC-TiB 2 /Al master alloy is prepared from the Al-Ti-B4C system.…”

Enhancement of Wear Resistance on H13 Tool and Die Steels by Trace Nanoparticles

“…Nanoparticles easily adsorb contamination and thus affect the strengthening effect [68,69]. In addition, the surface energy of nanoparticles is relatively high, so they are easy to agglomerate and difficult to disperse [70][71][72]. Non-dispersed and surface-polluted nanoparticles not only fail to strengthen, but also deteriorate the properties of the steel.…”