PREPARATION OF FINE MULTICOMPONENT OXIDE CERAMIC POWDER BY A COMBUSTION SYNTHESIS PROCESS

An important, rather novel procedure for the synthesis of submicron cr ystalline multicomponent oxide ceramic powders has been studied. The s ynthesis of CuFe2O4 powder, a ferrite material, has been used as a mod el system for understanding the synthesis process. The effect of the f uel content, powder packing, and surface heat loss has been investigat ed in terms of the maximum reaction temperature and reaction period, p hase formation, and particle size and morphology. It has been shown th at the maximum temperature and reaction period can be tailored to prod uce different phases. The submicron features of the synthesized powder s are indicated by the large surface area values obtained from BET mea surement.