Acta Chimica Slovaca (ACS) publishes papers on fundamental and applied aspects of chemistry, biochemistry, chemical technology, chemical engineering and process control, biotechnology and food technology. Welcome are also topics which include chemical aspects of materials, physical chemistry and chemical physics, analytical chemistry, macromolecular chemistry and biomedical engineering.

Characterization of cordierite-mullite ceramics prepared from natural raw materials

Abdulmula Ali Albhilil *, Martin Palou, Jana Kozánková

Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology, Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, Technology and materials, STU Bratislava, Radlinského 9, 812 37 Slovak Republic

E-mail: * martin.palou@stuba.sk

Abstract: Series of six cordierite-mullite ceramics were synthesized via solid state reaction at various temperatures from 1250 °C for pure cordierite to 1500 °C for pure mullite. Then the samples were submitted to the test of thermal shock resistance based on cycling heating-quenching procedure. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Mercury intrusion porosimeter (MIP) have been used to characterize the samples before and after cycling heating-quenching method. Sample 6 was broken after 35 heating-quenching cycles, while the five other reminded stable. The refractoriness of samples is found to be higher than that of commercial ones. XRD shows that heating-quenching procedure has led to crystallization of cordierite and mullite phases. Apart from sample 6, the pore structure is stable with slight consolidation. The microstructure images confirm the results of XRD and MIP showing crack in sample 6 only, but compact and larger particles resulting from crystal growth in other samples due to the repeated action of heating.

Keywords: cordierite-mullite, thermal resistance, microstructure, pore structure

Full paper in Portable Document Format: acs_0136.pdf

Acta Chimica Slovaca, Vol. 6, No. 1, 2013, pp. 1—7, DOI: 10.2478/acs-2013-0001