Synthesis of micro-micro titanium composite powder with the electrostatic adsorption process

Abstract This study investigates the production of commercially pure grade 4 titanium (Ti) composite powder via electrostatic adsorption. Unlike previous research focusing on nano-micro particles, this study explores the utilisation of surface charges (ions) to form a micro-scale composite powder, offering a novel approach in the field. The study investigates the impact of key electrostatic adsorption variables — pH value, stirring duration, host particle size and guest particle loading — on adsorption efficiency. It analyses the composite powder’s chemical composition, crystalline structures and adsorption efficiency using EDX, XRD and SEM techniques. The results show high adsorption efficiency is achieved when the guest (at 10% loading) and host particles are adjusted with pH-2 and pH-12, respectively, and stirred for 1 min. Moreover, more abundant adsorption sites led to better efficiency of larger host particles. No significant changes were observed in the chemical and crystalline structure (remained the same; α-Ti) of the composite powder except for the presence of Na and Cl. The study uncovers methods for creating micro-micro Ti composite powder, optimising adsorption efficiency. The powder has diverse applications, including metal injection moulding, binder jetting, selective laser melting and other powder-based processes. This study investigates the creation of micro-micro commercially pure grade 4 titanium composite powder.