By using pure titanium powder coated with un-bundled multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) via wet process, powder metallurgy (P/M) titanium matrix composite (TMC) reinforced with the CNTs was prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS) and subsequently hot extrusion process. The microstructure and mechanical properties of P/M pure titanium and reinforced with CNTs were evaluated. The distribution of CNTs and in-situ formed titanium carbide (TiC) compounds during sintering was investigated by optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with EDS analyzer. The mechanical properties of TMC were significantly improved by the additive of CNTs. For example, when employing the pure titanium composite powder coated with CNTs of 0.35 mass%, the increase of tensile strength and yield stress of the extruded TMC was 157 MPa and 169 MPa, respectively, compared to those of extruded titanium materials with no CNT additive. 2Fractured surfaces of tensile specimens were analyzed by SEM, and the uniform distribution of CNTs and TiC particles, being effective for the dispersion strengthening, at the surface of the TMC were obviously observed.

Pure titanium matrix composite reinforced with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) was prepared by spark plasma sintering and hot extrusion via powder metallurgy process.Titanium (Ti) powders were coated with CNTs via a wet process using a zwitterionic surfactant solution containing 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0wt.% of CNTs. In-situ TiC formation via reaction of CNTs with titanium occurred during sintering, and TiC particles were uniformly dispersed in the matrix. As-extruded Ti/TiCs composite rods were annealed at 473 K for 3.6 ks to reduce the residual stress during processing. After annealing process, the tensile properties of the composites were evaluated at room temperature, 473, 573 and 673 K, respectively. Hardness test was also performed at room temperature up to 573 K with a step of 50 K. The mechanical properties of extruded Ti/CNTs composites at elevated temperature were remarkably improved by adding a small amount of CNTs, compared to extruded Ti matrix. These were due to the TiC dispersoids originated from CNTs effectively stabilized the microstructure of extruded Ti composites by their pinning effect. Moreover, the coarsening and growth of Ti grain never occurred even though they were annealed at 573, 673 K for 36 ks and 673 K for 360 ks, respectively.

A powder metallurgy (P/M) titanium matrix composite (TMC) reinforced with low cost carbon black was prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS) and hot extrusion. Carbon black particles were added for the in situ formation of TiC dispersoids during the SPS process. Two kinds of titanium (Ti) powders, sponge and fine Ti, were coated with carbon black particles via a wet process using a zwitterionic solution containing carbon black spheres. The distribution of the particles on the Ti powder surface before the consolidation process was imaged using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). We evaluated the microstructure and mechanical properties of extruded pure Ti matrix composites reinforced with TiC particles. The morphology and distribution of the in situ TiC phases were investigated using optical microscopy and SEM with the help of an EDS analyzer. The mechanical properties of these composites were remarkably improved by adding a small amount of carbon black at 0:07$0:16 mass%. The increases in the yield stress of the extruded sponge and fine TMC were 70.0 and 291 MPa, while the tensile strength increases were 67 and 231 MPa, respectively, compared to those of extruded pure Ti with no reinforcement. Finally, the fractured surfaces of TMC specimens after tensile testing were observed. The benefits of the wet process and the use of carbon black additives are discussed in detail.

By using pure titanium powder coated with unbundled multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) via wet process, powder metallurgy (P/M) titanium matrix composite (TMC) reinforced with the CNTs was prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS) and subsequently hot extrusion process. The microstructure and mechanical properties of P/M pure titanium and reinforced with CNTs were evaluated. The distribution of CNTs and in situ formed titanium carbide (TiC) compounds during sintering was investigated by optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with EDS analyzer. The mechanical properties of TMC were significantly improved by the additive of CNTs. For example, when employing the pure titanium composite powder coated with CNTs of 0.35 mass%, the increase of tensile strength and yield stress of the extruded TMC was 157 MPa and 169 MPa, respectively, compared to those of extruded titanium materials with no CNT additive. Fractured surfaces of tensile specimens were analyzed by SEM, and the uniform distribution of CNTs and TiC particles, being effective for the dispersion strengthening, at the surface of the TMC were obviously observed.

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is known as one of the widely used catalysts in photocatalysis process. Recently, the photocatalysis of TiO2 has been implied in water purification and treatment, particularly dyes and organic compounds degradations. Naturally, the TiO2 can be found in three phases including anatase, rutile and brookite; each phase has its own specific properties such as grain size, stability and band gap energy. In this work, the effect of calcination temperature on the structure, morphology and photocatalytic activity were investigated. The data suggested that the anatase/rutile ratio of TiO2 can be controlled through the calcination process. The phase transformation data strongly indicated the liner function between percentage of rutile phase and calcination temperature. The BET analysis provided the consistent data with XRD patterns by showing that the specific surface area was decreased by increasing calcination temperature. The photodegradation of methylene blue under UV irradiation proved that the mixed phase of anatase/rutile ratio at 78.5/21.5 provided the highest photocatalytic activity. The phase composition ratio can influence the nanoparticles properties including band gap, specific surface area and energy band structure. Therefore, the control of anatase/rutile ratio was an alternative to enhance the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 nanoparticles for dyes and organic compounds degradations.

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Un-bundled multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were coated on titanium powder surface by using zwitterionic surfactant solution and mixing process, and their CNT/Ti composite powders were consolidated into full-dense materials by spark plasma sintering and the following hot extrusion process in solid-state. Wrought titanium powder metallurgy (PM) composites containing CNTs revealed extreme increment of yield stress and tensile strength of 85% and 50%, respectively, compared to conventional PM titanium with no reinforcement, while they had enough high ductility. The mechanical improvement was mainly due to dispersion strengthening effect of CNTs and in-situ formed TiC fine particles and a small mount of carbon solid solution into Ti matrix. In addition, the control of grain growth was promoted by TiC dispersoids during SPS, and contributed to their strengthening behavior. Furthermore, high-temperature tensile strength less than 673K of PM pure titanium materials was also obviously improved by the pinning effect of TiC particles dispersed at grain boundaries. In this paper, microstructural and mechanical properties of powder metallurgy titanium composites would be introduced in detail.