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Structure of Alumina Grain Boundaries Prepared with and without a Thin Amorphous Intergranular Film
Author(s) -
Susnitzky David W.,
Carter C. Barry
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
journal of the american ceramic society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.9
H-Index - 196
eISSN - 1551-2916
pISSN - 0002-7820
DOI - 10.1111/j.1151-2916.1990.tb07616.x
Subject(s) - grain boundary , materials science , intergranular corrosion , amorphous solid , sintering , transmission electron microscopy , composite material , phase (matter) , microstructure , layer (electronics) , metallurgy , mineralogy , crystallography , nanotechnology , chemistry , organic chemistry
The presence of a thin amorphous intergranular film along grain boundaries in alumina is expected to affect the properties of the interface and hence those of the material. In the present study, two types of grain boundaries have been formed in hot‐pressed alumina bicrystals. In one case, the surfaces of the sintered crystals were kept as clean as possible, while in the other a thin layer of SiO 2 was intentionally deposited onto the surface of one crystal. The distribution of SiO 2 along the resulting grain boundary was then monitored by transmission electron microscopy and compared with the morphological features of the interface. In the special cases chosen here, the glass receded into large pores which grew into the alumina itself. However, the presence of the glassy phase during the early stages of sintering clearly did influence the characteristics of the resulting grain boundaries.