TiC powders were successfully synthesized by carbothermal reduction of Ti-O-C precursor in argon at 1,400 °C for 2 h. And the Ti-O-C precursor was formed by sol-gel method using titanium butyrate (Ti(OC₄H₉)₄), fructose (C₆H₁₂O₆), and acetyl acetone (acac). Here, acac was used as chemical modifier to control Ti(OC₄H₉)₄ hydrolysis to obtain stable sol. Furthermore, TG-DSC, XRD, FTIR, Raman, SEM, and EDS were employed to characterize the precursor and TiC powders. Moreover, acac as stabilizer was studied using FTIR when reacted with Ti(OC₄H₉)₄ formed stable six-member ring as a result of the existence of tautomer, prevent the nucleophilic attack of water, which reduced the hydrolysis rate of Ti(OC₄H₉)₄. Besides, the composition of TiC phase was further understood by the Raman spectra, and the results showed that the peaks at 403 cm^-1, 513 cm^-1, and 629 cm^-1 were ascribed to the characteristic peaks of TiC. Finally, the photomicrograph revealed an equiaxed shape and the average grain size of TiC particles was ca. 1 um. The EDS indicated that the particles contain elements of Ti and carbon according to dot and line scan.

Keywords: Raman, sol-gel, FTIR, scan, TiC