Production of TiN and ZrN powder by dynamic carbothermal reduction method

The Carbothermal Reduction and Nitridation (CRN) method is an effective method for obtaining nitride based technological ceramics. This thesis study was carried out by using dynamic carbothermal reduction and nitridation (DCRN) method. In this method, the powder mixture or granules is moved continuously in a dynamic system. This production process allows to obtain very good quality products in low temperature and time economically. In this study, the production of TiN and ZrN ceramic powders were obtained by dynamic carbothermal reduction-nitridation (DCRN) method. In the production of TiN and ZrN powders, granules were prepared with stoichiometry proportions of oxide powders and carbon black (C/TiO2=2, C/ZrO2=2). TiN and ZrN were obtained from the prepared granules in the graphite reactor under N2 gas flow. By DCRN process which is an innovative approach, the effects of various test parameters such as reaction temperature (1350 °C and 1400 °C for TiN production, 1400 °C-1500 °C for ZrN powder production), reaction time (1-3 hours), rotation speed of the reactor (2-6 rpm), gas flow rate (60L/h) was investigated. The phases and microstructures of the samples were characterized by XRD and SEM analyzes. As a result of these analyzes, at a reactor rotation speed of 4 rpm in 1 hour under N2-gas flow rate of 60 L/h, powders of micron in size and homogeneously form were produced at 1400 °C and 1500 °C for TiN and ZrN phase, respectively. In this study, it is proved that TiN and ZrN powders produced by CRN process in high temperature and long time can be produced using DCRN process much less time and lower temperatures with fine size and more in homogeneity form.