Electrochemical synthesis of titanium oxycarbide in a CaCl ₂ based molten salt

Titanium oxycarbide (TiC _xO _y) was successfully prepared by an electro-deoxidation of TiO ₂/C composite cathode in molten calcium chloride at 900 °C. The composite cathode was prepared by adding an amount of carbon into TiO ₂ powders. By using X-rays diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, it was found that the presence of carbon resulted in changes in reaction mechanism and accelerated the rate of electrochemical reaction. The results suggested that the electrochemical reduction of TiO ₂/C composite was the following: firstly titanium dioxide was reduced to TiO _n (0 < n < 1) along with the formation of CaTiO ₃. Then, TiO _n (0 < n < 1) reacted with carbon to TiC _xO _y.