Characterization of TiH2 Powders Produced from TiCl4-MgH2 Reactions under Hydrogen Atmosphere

Thermodynamic assessment and experimental investigation on the formation of titanium hydride (TiH₂) from the reaction between titanium tetrachloride (TiCl₄) gas and magnesium hydride (MgH₂) powder were carried out under hydrogen atmosphere. In this new method, the production of TiH₂ powder at low temperature was investigated, which can be used for further dehydrogenation process to produce low-cost Ti powder. In this work, the effects of temperature, time, amount of titanium trifluoride (TiF₃) as a catalyst, and ball-milling time of the MgH₂ on the formation of TiH₂ were investigated. The phase transformations and evolution of the morphology of the powders with an increase in time and temperature were studied by x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. The results of the reaction at 400 °C for 10 h indicated that producing TiH₂ from the reduction of TiCl₄ with MgH₂ at low temperature was feasible and has a significant potential for the low-cost synthesis method of TiH₂ for Ti powder production.