Carbothermal reduction of titanium monoxide (TiO)

The carbothermal reduction of TiO was investigated and compared with that of TiO₂ using a thermodynamic approach and experiments. Cubic-TiO powder was synthesized using a high-energy mill to understand the reduction and carburization process. During the reduction and carburization process, TiO is found to be changed into TiC and Ti₂O₃ simultaneously at low temperatures. This change is ascribed to the low thermodynamic stability of TiO compared with that of Ti₂O₃). The instability of TiO is found to result in a higher driving force for the carburization of TiO to TiC than that for relatively stable Ti₂O₃.