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Titanium carbide, TiC, is an extremely hard (Mohs 9–9.5) refractory ceramic material, similar to tungsten carbide. It has the appearance of black powder with the sodium chloride (face-centered cubic) crystal structure.
It occurs in nature as a form of the very rare mineral Template:Ill (Template:Langx) - (Ti,V,Fe)C. It was discovered in 1984 on Mount Arashan in the Chatkal District,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> USSR (modern Kyrgyzstan), near the Uzbek border. The mineral was named after Ibragim Khamrabaevich Khamrabaev, director of Geology and Geophysics of Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Its crystals as found in nature range in size from 0.1 to 0.3 mm.
Physical propertiesEdit
Titanium carbide has an elastic modulus of approximately 400 GPa and a shear modulus of 188 GPa.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Titanium carbide is soluble in solid titanium oxide, with a range of compositions which are collectively named "titanium oxycarbide" and created by carbothermic reduction of the oxide.<ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref>
Manufacturing and machiningEdit
Tool bits without tungsten content can be made of titanium carbide in nickel-cobalt matrix cermet, enhancing the cutting speed, precision, and smoothness of the workpiece.Template:Citation needed
The resistance to wear, corrosion, and oxidation of a tungsten carbide–cobalt material can be increased by adding 6–30% of titanium carbide to tungsten carbide. This forms a solid solution that is more brittle and susceptible to breakage.Template:Clarify
Titanium carbide can be etched with reactive-ion etching.
ApplicationsEdit
Titanium carbide is used in preparation of cermets, which are frequently used to machine steel materials at high cutting speed. It is also used as an abrasion-resistant surface coating on metal parts, such as tool bits and watch mechanisms.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Titanium carbide is also used as a heat shield coating for atmospheric reentry of spacecraft.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
7075 aluminium alloy (AA7075) is almost as strong as steel, but weighs one third as much. Using thin AA7075 rods with TiC nanoparticles allows larger alloys pieces to be welded without phase-segregation induced cracks.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
See alsoEdit
- Metallocarbohedryne, a family of metal-carbon clusters including Template:Chem2