AVALIAÇÃO ESTRUTURAL DA MULITA SINTETIZADA PELO MÉTODO SOL-GEL / STRUCTURAL EVALUATION OF MULITA SYNTHESIZED BY THE SOL-GEL METHOD

Mullite is an aluminosilicate that has achieved extensive importance due to its excellent properties, having a wide range of applications in both traditional and advanced ceramics. Thus, studies aimed at the synthesis of mullite have a great scientific and technological importance, being present in several ceramic laboratories around the world. Thus, the objective of this work was to synthesize mullite by the sol gel method, analyzing the influence of different parameters on the structural characteristics of the material. The samples were synthesized using different solvents (water, ethyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol and tetrahydrofuran), calcined at different temperatures (1100 and 1200°C) and with different concentrations of the solution. The powders obtained were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) for identification of the formed phases and calculation of crystallinity. The results showed the influence of the studied parameters on the structural characteristics of all samples, where the use of alcohols, in the condition of high concentration, favored the formation of mullite, with higher crystallinity and at lower temperatures, compared to other solvents.