Simultaneous synthesis of TiNSi₃N₄composite powders from TiSi₂in NH₃atmosphere

The NH3 nitriding process of TiSi2 micrometer-sized powders were investigated in this paper. TiSi2 powders were heat-treated under NH3 flow in a temperature range of 1, 100 to 1, 300 °C. The composition and morphology of the resulting composites were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Under NH3 flow, TiSi2 grains were first transformed into TiN and Si. Subsequently, Si was transformed into Si3N4 and SiO2 fibers. From this process, mixed materials comprising TiN particles with Si3N4 fibers were obtained.