In Situ Synthesis of Ceramic Composite Materials in the Ti–B–C–N System by a Mechanically Induced Self‐Sustaining Reaction

Abstract

The synthesis of multicomponent ceramic materials in the titanium‐diboride‐carbide‐nitride‐carbonitride system by the mechanochemical process known as the mechanically induced self‐sustaining reaction (MSR) was investigated. Ceramic composite powders containing TiB2 and TiC, TiN or TiCxN1−x were prepared from a blended mixture of the elements by exploiting the highly exothermic nature of the formation reactions. The synthesis of the composite materials was made possible by the ability of the MSR to simultaneously induce independent self‐sustaining reactions, generating a mixture of ceramic phases. The composition of the ceramic composites was designed using the initial atomic ratio of the reactants, and the achieved microstructure was characterized by TiB2 particles in the micrometric range, surrounded by submicrometric and nanometric TiC, TiN, or TiCxN1−x crystals.