The synthesis of TiN by ball-milling - a neutron diffraction study

Titanium nitride of FCC B1 structure forms readily on milling Ti in nitrogen and ammonia environments. Rietveld refinements of time-of-flight neutron diffraction patterns show that stoichiometric TIN is produced on milling Ti in nitrogen, whereas the off-stoichiometric nitride TiN0.7, associated with the presence of hydrogen, is formed on milling in ammonia. The transformation of Ti to the nitride proceeds more rapidly in ammonia due to the catalytic effect of hydrogen. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.