Self-propagating high-temperature synthesis is an effective method for preparing refractory ceramic materials, especially carbides and borides as fine powders. The common perception that a pressurized stainless steel reactor is necessary for conducting the synthesis has, until now, excluded it from undergraduate laboratory courses. Our students performed this synthesis using a simple and inexpensive wooden block reactor to prepare TiC, using TiO₂, C and Mg as the reactants. The product at this stage is contaminated with Mg₂TiO₄ which forms through a side-reaction during this highly exothermic reaction. The factors that caused this provoked a stimulating class discussion and led to a method for recovering the TiC as a monophasic powder. The crude and purified product materials were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction. All in all, these aspects make this synthesis an ideal experiment for undergraduate laboratory in chemistry or materials science courses. Moreover, the skills and methods learned through this experiment ensure that students are better equipped to tackle the self-propagating high-temperature synthesis of more complex carbides and refractory ceramic materials in conventional reactors.

中文翻译：

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自蔓延高温合成碳化钛：使用木块反应器的教育模块

自蔓延高温合成是制备耐火陶瓷材料特别是细粉形式的碳化物和硼化物的有效方法。迄今为止，人们普遍认为加压不锈钢反应器是进行合成的必要条件，但迄今为止，这种反应还没有将其排除在本科实验室课程之外。我们的学生使用一个简单且便宜的木块反应器进行了合成，以TiO ₂，C和Mg作为反应物制备了TiC 。此阶段的产品被Mg ₂ TiO ₄污染在高度放热的反应过程中通过副反应形成。引起这一问题的因素引起了广泛的讨论，并提出了一种回收TiC为单相粉末的方法。粗产物和纯化的产物材料通过粉末X射线衍射表征。总而言之，这些方面使该合成成为化学或材料科学课程的本科实验室的理想实验。此外，通过该实验学习的技能和方法可确保学生有更好的条件应对常规反应堆中自蔓延高温合成更复杂的碳化物和耐火陶瓷材料的过程。