The synthesis of titanium porous microspheres by a combustion technique was studied under an argon atmosphere by using a TiO2 - 2.5Mg reactive mixture. The precursor, a fine TiO2 powder, was thermally treated in the range 600-1300 degrees C prior to the combustion experiments. TiO2 microspheres whose diameters were between 10 and 50 mu m were obtained from precursor particles annealed in the range 900-1100 degrees C. A biphase product consisting of Ti and MgO phases was obtained when the TiO2 microspheres were reduced with Mg. The spherical morphology of the final particles was retained despite the relatively high combustion temperatures (1630-1670 degrees C) used in this study. Moreover, porous titanium microspheres were obtained when the MgO particles were dissolved using acid leaching. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of the microspheres suggested that the spherical structure contained similar to 0.5-2.0-mu m-diameter porous windows. The Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area of the Ti microspheres was determined to be 2.8 m(2) g(-1). (c) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.