Phase and crystallite size analysis of (Ti_1-xMo_x)C-(Ni,Cr) cermet obtained by mechanical alloying

In this paper, we report the phase and crystallite size analysis of (Ti_1-xMo_x)C-(Ni,Cr) with x = 0-0.5 cermet obtained by mechanical alloying of Ti, Mo, Ni, Cr and C elemental powders using a high-energy shaker ball mill under wet condition for 10 hours. The process used toluene as process control agent and the ball to mass ratio was 10:1. The mechanically milled powder was then consolidated and subsequently heated at a temperature 850°C for 2 hours under an argon flow to prevent oxidation. The product was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope equipped with energy dispersive analyzer. Results shown that, by the selection of appropriate condition during the mechanical alloying process, a metastable Ti-Ni-Cr-C powders could be obtained. The powder then allowed the in situ synthesis of TiC-(Ni,Cr) cermet which took place during exposure time at a high temperature that applied in reactive sintering step. Addition to molybdenum has caused shifting the TiC XRD peaks to a slightly higher angle which indicated that molybdenum dissolved in TiC phase. The crystallite size distribution of TiC is discussed in the report, which showing that the mean size decreased with the addition of molybdenum.