Preparation, Structure, and Properties of Thermally and Mechanically Improved Aluminum Titanate Ceramics Doped with Alkali Feldspar.

Aluminum titanate (AT) ceramic materials doped with alkali feldspar ((Na[sub 0.6]K[sub 0.4])AlSi[sub 3]O[sub 8]) have been prepared. These ceramics exhibited high sinterability, large resistance to thermal decomposition, and large flexure strength. The existence of liquid-phase feldspar at sintering temperatures promoted the formation of AT ceramics as the sintering agent. It was considered that silicon ions substituting for aluminum ions at the surface of AT crystal grains lowered the surface energy and hindered the diffusion of Ti[sup 4+] and Al[sup 3+], giving rise to the large resistance to thermal decomposition. As a result, doping with alkali feldspar was found to effectively improve the mechanical and thermal properties of AT ceramics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]