Study on Mullite Whiskers Preparation Via Non-hydrolytic Sol-gel Process Combined with Molten Salt Method

摘要

Mullite whiskers were prepared via non-hydrolytic sol-gel process combined with molybdate molten salt using tetraethoxysilane and anhydrous aluminum chloride as precussor, anhydrous ether as oxygen donor, molybdate as molten salt. The effects of heat treatment temperature, molten salt amount, holding time on synthesis and morphology of mullite whiskers were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The results show that the mullite whiskers appeared at the lowest temperature of 800°C, and optimized mullite whiskers could be prepared at 900°C for 8 h with the mass ratio of xerogel and molybdate as 1:2, the diameter of the whiskers was in the range of 0.15-0.22 μm with the aspect ratio of more than 40.