Ceramic compound on the basis of beo and lao for crucibles in which fissile metals and alloys are fused and process for the preparation thereof

摘要

A crucible is formed of, or coated with, the compound La2BeO4 formed from BeO and La2O3, with or without an excess of one of the oxides. The crucible is formed by mixing finely divided BeO and La2O3, treating the mixture with a plasticizer or binder, compressing into crucible form and calcining at 1200-1300 DEG C. It is stated that the calcined product also contains La2Be2O5. The mixture may be heated to 200 DEG C. at the rate of 50 DEG C. per hour, and then at e.g. 1250 DEG C. for 8 hours. The oxides may be mixed by wet or dry crushing, or by boiling a dispersion thereof. A specified binding agent is a solution of stearic acid in CCl4. A crucible of an Al2O3-based material may be coated with the La2BeO4 by brushing on the wet powder, by means of a spray gun or by slip casting, and then calcining.