The Effect of Ball Milling on Properties and Sintering of Nanostructured TiB₂.

TiB₂ powder was milled in a high-energy ball mill (Pulverisette-5 planetary mill) at 250 rpm for various time periods (0, 1, 4, and 10 h) and consolidated by the high frequency induction heated sintering (HFIHS). The effect of milling on the sintering behavior and crystallite size of TiB₂ powders were investigated. A nanostructured dense TiB₂ specimen with a relative density of up to 98% was readily achieved within very short time (two min). The ball milling effectively refined the crystallite structure of TiB₂ powders and facilitated the subsequent consolidation. The sinter-onset temperature was reduced remarkably by the prior milling for 10 h. Accordingly, the relative density and mechanical properties of TiB₂ compact increased as the milling time increased.