SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF TiB2 NANOCRYSTALLINE POWDER BY MECHANICAL ALLOYING
In this investigation, TiB 2 nanocrystalline powder was synthesized by mechanical alloying of the elemental mixture of Ti and B powders in argon atmosphere. In order to study the structural evolution of the powder during ball milling, X-Ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used. Adiabatic temperature calculations were performed for characterization of TiB 2 powder. Also, the effects of heat treatment on the structural evolution and thermal stability of mechanically alloyed powders were investigated. It was found from the XRD patterns that TiB 2 was formed via combustion mechanism. By increasing milling time, the grain size decreased while the lattice strain increased. SEM micrographs showed that TiB 2 particles were spherical. The grain size and lattice strain reached 24 nm and 1.8% respectively, after 60 hours ball milling.