Biomorphic wood-derived titanium carbides prepared by physical vapor infiltration-reaction synthesis.

Biomorphic wood-derived titanium carbides produced using physical vapor infiltration-reaction synthesis (PVI-R) with a homemade setup were reported for the first time. Effects of the temperature (1700–2100 °C) and duration time (15–90min) on the microstructures (i.e. weight gain, infiltration depth and surface condition) of titanium carbides were investigated in details during the PVI-R process. The lower temperature (1700 °C) contributed to retain the pore structure of wood, while the increased temperatures (1800–2100 °C) induced the TiC coating to block the pores on the surface of sample, resulting in preventing the infiltration of Ti gas. The increased duration time from 15 to 90 min at 1700 °C contributed to the infiltration of Ti gas into the sample, by moderately increasing the TiC depth from 814 to 905 μm. The mechanism of forming TiC in the wood-derived biocarbon structure during PVI-R process was proposed and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]