Nanocrystalline stoichiometric TiN powder has been prepared by ball-milling the alpha-Ti powder under N(2) gas at room temperature. The alpha-Ti phase is partially transformed to the transient beta-Ti phase and TiN phase is noticed to form after 3 h of milling and nanocrystalline TiN phase is formed after 9 h of milling. Microstructure characterization of unmilled and ball-milled samples characterized primarily by X-ray diffraction employing the Rietveld structure refinement clearly reveals the presence of TiN phase and inclusion of nitrogen atoms in the alpha-Ti lattice in the way to formation of nitride phase. Transmission electron microscopy image confirms the presence of TiN phase and the size of TiN particles obtained from both XRD and TEM methods of characterization are very close in value (similar to 13 nm). (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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