TiC
Titanium carbide · TiC
Titanium carbide is a hard, metallic ceramic material prized for its exceptional thermal stability and wear resistance in high-stress industrial applications.
About Titanium carbide
Titanium carbide is a highly stable, metallic ceramic that serves as a cornerstone material in the field of ultra-high-temperature ceramics. Its robust structural integrity and electronic properties make it an essential component for demanding industrial environments where thermal resistance is paramount.
Because it sits firmly on the thermodynamic convex hull, this compound is exceptionally durable and resistant to degradation. It is frequently utilized in the production of cermets and specialized coatings that require superior wear resistance and high melting points.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Titanium carbide, aggregated across 3 databases.
Band GapEnergy needed to move an electron from the valence band to the conduction band. Lower or zero values tend to behave more metallic; larger gaps are more insulating or semiconducting.
Energy Above HullThermodynamic distance from the most stable set of competing phases. 0 eV/atom is on the convex hull; small positive values may still be experimentally accessible.
StabilityA plain-language summary of the best reported energy-above-hull result. It reflects whether the lowest-energy structure is on, near, or far from the stability hull.
StructuresCount of reported calculated crystal structures for this formula, including alternate polymorphs, source databases, and observed space groups.
Cross-Source DFT Agreement
How well independent DFT databases agree on the thermodynamics of TiC. Tight agreement means computed properties can be trusted without re-running calculations.
Agreement ScoreA normalized confidence score summarizing how closely independent DFT databases agree. Higher scores mean tighter cross-source agreement.
Hull SpreadDifference between the highest and lowest energy-above-hull values reported by comparable sources. Smaller spread means less thermodynamic disagreement.
Sources ComparedNumber and names of computational sources with comparable entries for this formula.
Space Group ConsensusWhether independent sources predict the same crystal symmetry for the lowest-energy structure.
Reported Structures
Lowest-energy structures reported for TiC, ranked by energy above hull.
| Space GroupSymmetry classification of the crystal arrangement. The number is the international space-group index. | Crystal SystemBroad lattice family, such as cubic, tetragonal, monoclinic, or triclinic, derived from unit-cell symmetry. | Band Gap (eV)Electronic gap calculated for this specific reported structure, measured in electronvolts. | E above hull (eV/atom)Thermodynamic distance from the convex hull for this structure, normalized per atom. Lower is generally more stable. | E/atom (eV)Computed total energy normalized per atom. Use energy above hull, not this value alone, when comparing stability. | Density (g/cm³)Mass per relaxed crystal volume, reported in grams per cubic centimeter. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fm-3m (No. 225) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | -12.408 | 4.89 |
| Fm-3m (No. 225) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | -0.920 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0000 | -0.804 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0000 | -0.804 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.2167 | -0.587 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.2537 | -0.550 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.6615 | -0.143 | — |
| — | — | 0.47 | 0.6928 | -0.111 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.7376 | -0.067 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 1.1116 | 0.308 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 1.1344 | 0.330 | — |
| P4mm (No. 99) | tetragonal | 0.15 | 6.0388 | 5.119 | — |
Synthesis Routes
Literature-extracted synthesis procedures targeting TiC.
Applications
Where Titanium carbide is used.
Patent Landscape
26 patents reference TiC or close compositional variants.
| Patent | Title | Assignee | Granted |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4356272 | Sintered bodies Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 -TiC-TiO.sub.2 continuing yttrium (y) | — | — |
| 9138806 | In-situ combustion synthesis of titanium carbide (TiC) reinforced aluminum matrix composite | — | — |
| 7667277 | TiC as a thermally stable p-metal carbide on high k SiO2 gate stacks | — | — |
| 6001268 | Reactive ion etching of alumina/TiC substrates | — | — |
| 6027660 | Method of etching ceramics of alumina/TiC with high density plasma | — | — |
| 5439854 | TiC-base/SiC whisker composite ceramic cutting tools | — | — |
| 6126896 | Method of producing titanium carbide (TiC) based cermets through reaction milling process | — | — |
| 6293989 | Method of producing nanophase WC/TiC/Co composite powder | — | — |
| 5360772 | Ceramic material reinforced by the incorporation of TiC, TiCN and TiN whiskers and processes for production th | — | — |
| 4137076 | Electrical contact material of TiC, WC and silver | — | — |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Titanium carbide, answered from cross-validated data.
What is TiC?
Titanium carbide is a hard, metallic ceramic material prized for its exceptional thermal stability and wear resistance in high-stress industrial applications.
What is TiC used for?
What is the band gap of TiC?
Is TiC a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is TiC thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of TiC?
What is the density of TiC?
How many polymorphs of TiC are known?
How is TiC synthesized?
What elements does TiC contain?
Where does the data for TiC come from?
How It Compares
Within the ultra-high-temperature ceramics class.
Within the family of ultra-high-temperature ceramics, titanium carbide is one of the most extensively studied and utilized members. While compounds like HfC and ZrC share similar structural profiles and high-temperature performance, titanium carbide remains a preferred choice for commercial applications due to its favorable balance of density, hardness, and established manufacturing processes.
Related Compounds
Other Ultra-High-Temperature Ceramics in the database.
Data sources & attribution
- materials_project — Data from the Materials Project (materialsproject.org). Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013). (CC-BY-4.0)
- jarvis — Data from JARVIS (jarvis.nist.gov), NIST. Cite: Choudhary et al., npj Comp. Mater. 6, 173 (2020). (LicenseRef-US-Gov-PD)
- oqmd — Data from the OQMD (oqmd.org). Cite: Saal et al., JOM 65, 1501 (2013); Kirklin et al., npj Comp. Mater. 1, 15010 (2015). (CC-BY-4.0)
- mpaloe — Data from MP-ALOE. Cite: Kuner et al., npj Comput. Mater. (2025), doi:10.1038/s41524-025-01834-9.
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