Effective control of the microstructure of carbide-derived carbon by ball-milling the carbide precursor Original Research Article

A microstructure control strategy for carbide-derived carbon (CDC) by ball-milling the metal carbide precursor prior to CDC synthesis is investigated. This work explores the effect of chlorination temperature and ball-milling time on the microstructure, specific surface area (SSA) and the pore size distribution. It is found that the degree of order of CDC obtained from the milled titanium carbide (TiC) is obviously high and can be well tuned by controlling the ball-milling time at a lower chlorination temperature (400–800 °C). As the chlorination temperature rises to 1000 °C, an obvious decrease in the degree of order is observed and many cubic diamond-like carbon nanoparticles with larger d-spacing are formed. In addition, the produced CDC has a high SSA with both micro- and meso-pores. The effect of ball-milling TiC precursor on the microstructure of CDC can be attributed to the iron (Fe) in the TiC from the milling balls and jar to a great extent. The Fe promotes the formation of the better-organised carbon at lower chlorination temperature and the formation of the nano-diamond at higher temperature.