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Preparation of Fused Zirconia/Mullite Aggregates from Sillimanite, Zircon, and Alumina Mixtures via Plasma
Author(s) -
Prusty Sasmita,
Mishra D. K.,
Mohapatra B. K.,
Mishra Gopa,
Singh S. K.
Publication year - 2012
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.1551-2916.2011.04898.x
Subject(s) - mullite , zircon , cubic zirconia , sillimanite , materials science , plasma , mineralogy , chemical engineering , metallurgy , chemistry , geochemistry , geology , ceramic , quartz , biotite , physics , quantum mechanics , engineering
The mineral sillimanite and zircon recovered from beach sand were considered as the sources of alumina, silica, and zirconia for the synthesis of fused zirconia mullite ( MUZ ). The mullite phase appears as a primary phase up to the zirconia percentages of 20, whereas it appears as a secondary phase in the higher percentages of zirconia (>20) in the MUZ composites. The thermal plasma provides higher temperature up to 2100°C to favor the transformation of monoclinic phases of zirconia to tetragonal/cubic zirconia for which a mixture of monoclinic, tetragonal, and cubic zirconia is observed in the X ‐ray diffraction pattern. The electron probe microstructure analysis reveals the presence of glass phase ( SiO 2 ) in the lower (5%) and higher (>15%) percentage of zirconia composites. A variation in the optical band gap (2.06–2.63 eV) and enhancement in the hardness are observed with the increasing concentration of zirconia in the MUZ composites.