Composition and structure of «core–shell» nanocrystalline particles based on titanium-molybdenum carbides obtained under the conditions of plasma-chemical synthesis

This paper provides the data on the composition and structure of nanocrystalline particles formed during the plasmachemical synthesis of mechanical mixtures containing TiC, Mo, and Co according to the plasma-induced Ostwald ripeningscheme. The paper was mainly intended to study the structural features and localizations of Mo0.42C0.58 carbide in TiC–Mo and TiC–Mo–Co nanocrystalline «core–shell» structures. As a result of X-ray diffraction and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) studies, it was found that the Mo0.42C0.58 carbide of orthorhombic modification is present in all fractions of TiC–Mo and TiC–Mo–Co mechanical mixtures after Ostwald ripening. Nanocrystalline TiC–Mo fractions and the TiC–Mo–Co mixture subjected to one-time Ostwald ripening from a baghouse filter were used in the electron microscopy study to illustrate the presence of «core–shell» structures where refractory cores are represented by Ti1–nMonCx titanium-molybdenum carbides, and high-contrast metal shells contain Mo, Mo0.42C0.58 and Co. Electron microscope images also showed the localization of orthorhombic Mo0.42C0.58. According to the results obtained, it can be concluded that «core–shell» structures are formed during the extreme exposure in the form of plasma-chemical synthesis of TiC–Mo and TiC–Mo–Co mechanical mixtures in a low-temperature nitrogen plasma. At the same time, it should be added that nanocrystalline compositions with the «core–shell» structure are crystallized in a tangential nitrogen flow at a cooling rate of 105 °C/s with the subsequent separation of products into ultra- and nanodispersed fractions in a vortex-type cyclone and a baghouse filter.