RAPID CERAMIC PROCESSING BY FIELD-ASSISTED SINTERING TECHNIQUE

摘要

The novel field-assisted sintering technique (FAST) has been successfully used to synthesize and consolidate a number of inorganic compounds such as clialcogenide spinels and n'alite. A ternary magnetic sulfide compound FeCr_2S_4 was prepared from a mixture of commercially available FeS and Cr_2S_3 powders using FAST. A one-step complete reaction sintering to form FeCr_2S_4 was done at 1000°C in 10 minutes. The ternary magnetic oxide compound CoAl_2O_4 was also prepared using the same technique. The high homogeneity of the composition of the prepared samples was confirmed by XRD analysis. In addition, the hard-to-form-and-siiiter tialite, Al_2TiO_5, can also be FAST-synthesized from regular Al_2O_3 and TiO-2 powders. Compared to conventional methods where the same reaction sintering step may take hours or days, current FAST-reaction sintering experiments demonstrate the ability of this novel technique to perform fast reaction sintering of different ceramic compounds.