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Preparation, characterization and mechanical properties of continuous mullite fibers derived from the diphasic sol-gel route

  • Original Paper: Fundamentals of sol-gel and hybrid materials processing
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Abstract

In the present work, continuous mullite fibers were fabricated through the diphasic sol-gel route using aluminum isopropoxide (AIP) and aluminum nitrate (AN) as the alumina sources and colloidal silica as the silica source. Fiber processing was achieved via draw-spinning method. Amorphous inorganic mullite fibers with smooth and dense features, as well as designed chemical composition and uniform elemental distribution, were obtained by pyrolysis of the continuous precursor fibers at the ending temperature of 800 °C in air. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the samples sintered at elevated temperatures were investigated. Differential thermal analysis (DTA) showed two exothermic peaks at 978 and 1271 °C assigned to the crystallization of γ-Al2O3 and mullite phase, respectively. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) results verified the typical phase transformation route of diphasic mullite while sintering. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed a rapid grain growth after the mullite phase had formed. As the sintering temperatures increased, the filament tensile strength of the mullite fibers first increased and then decreased, reaching a maximum value of 934 MPa at 1000 °C.

Highlights

  • Continuous and homogeneous mullite fibers were prepared through the diphasic sol-gel route.

  • Alumina sol fabricated by AIP and AN was used to prepare diphasic mullite sol for the first time.

  • Smooth and dense surface remained at 900_1100 °C due to the small γ-Al2O3 grains.

  • Rapid grain growth occurred after 1200 °C was ascribed to the formation of mullite phase.

  • A maximum tensile strength of 934 MPa was acquired after sintering the fibers at 1000 °C.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the “Chang Jiang Scholars Program” of the Ministry of Education of China (Grant no. T2011119).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Key Laboratory of Science and Technology for National Defence on High-strength Structural Materials, Central South University, 410083, Changsha, China

    Yangrui Gao, Wensheng Liu, Xiaolei Song, Qiang Liu, Shuwei Yao, Juan Wang, Qingshan Cai & Yunzhu Ma

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  1. Yangrui Gao
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  2. Wensheng Liu
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Correspondence to Juan Wang, Qingshan Cai or Yunzhu Ma.

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Gao, Y., Liu, W., Song, X. et al. Preparation, characterization and mechanical properties of continuous mullite fibers derived from the diphasic sol-gel route. J Sol-Gel Sci Technol 92, 75–83 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-019-05078-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-019-05078-0

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