Study on the effects of milling time and sintering temperature on the sinterability of forsterite (Mg₂SiO₄)

Abstract

Synthesis of phase-pure forsterite (Mg 2 SiO 4 ) is a challenging process that requires multiple steps including careful heat treatment and ball milling. In this work, the effects of temperature, time and ball milling duration in synthesizing forsterite powder were investigated. A comparison of 1000 and 1200°C heat treatment temperature with 1 min, 1, and 2 h of holding time during heat treatment was conducted. In addition, 1, 5, 7, and 10 h of milling time were selected as variables to identify optimum conditions for completion of reaction in forming pure forsterite powder. Based on the X-ray diffraction results, 1200°C heat treatment, 2 h of holding time, and 7 h of milling successfully produced single phase forsterite powders with crystallite size of 41 nm. The forsterite powder was compacted and sintered at temperatures ranging from 1200 to 1500°C. The highest hardness and fracture toughness of 7.11 GPa and 4.88 MPa m 1/2 were achieved when sintered at 1400°C, respectively. Meanwhile, the highest relative density of 91% was obtained for the sample sintered at 1500°C.

Silicate dielectric ceramics for millimetre wave applications

“…Lastly, the choice of starting materials has been proven to influence the quality of the products immensely. Using nanosized ceramic precursors can lower the sintering temperature and have a positive effect on Q [127][128][129]. This approach was taken further by Ando et al by using amorphous starting material and improving the loss characteristics of forsterite ceramics [130].…”

Mg2SiO4-MgAl2O4 directionally solidified eutectics: Hardness dependence modelled through an array of screw dislocations

“…Furthermore, forsterite is a classical refractory ceramic that is commonly used owing to its chemical stability and excellent insulation properties even at high temperatures. However, the main drawback of this ceramic is the fabrication of dense forsterite bodies and its negative influence on mechanical properties [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. It can be found in the literature that by conventional sintering techniques like pressures-less sintering, forsterite possesses a low relative density around 90-93% with low hardness of 7 GPa and excessive grain growth is observed.…”

“…Regarding fracture toughness, it depends on the experimental method: a value as low as 2.4 MPa m 1/2 is obtained making use of notched beams and bending tests while it goes up to 5 MPa m 1/2 by means of the indentation fracture toughness technique. Several authors doubt about this improvement and claim that it is a mere artifact because of remaining porosity [2][3][4][5][6].…”

Simple route for the preparation of graphene/poly(styrene‐b‐butadiene‐b‐styrene) nanocomposite films with enhanced electrical conductivity and hydrophobicity

“…Among other members of the carbon nanomaterials family, graphene can be used as a filler for the preparation of flexible and electroconductive nanocomposites for the fabrication of sensors and antistatic materials . For those purposes, graphene is noncovalently functionalized with poly(styrene‐ b ‐butadiene‐ b ‐styrene) (SBS), a triblock copolymer which consists of two amorphous phases.…”