Fabrication of a Spherical Titanium Powder by Combined Combustion Synthesis and DC Plasma Treatment

Combustion synthesis is capable of producing many types of refractory and ceramic materials, as well as metals, with a relatively lower cost and shorter time frame than other solid state synthetic techniques. TiO₂ with Mg as reductant were dry mixed and hand compacted into a 60 mm diameter mold and then combusted under an Ar atmosphere. Depending on the reaction parameters (Mg concentration 2 ≤ α ≤ 4), the thermocouples registered temperatures between 1160°C and 1710°C . 3 mol of Mg gave the optimum results with combustion temperature (T_c) and combustion velocity (U_c) values of 1372°C and 0.26 cm/s respectively. Furthermore, this ratio also had the lowest oxygen concentration in this study (0.8 wt%). After combustion, DC plasma treatment was carried out to spheroidize the Ti powder for use in 3D printing. The characterization of the final product was performed using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and N/O analysis.