Blow spun strontium zirconate fibres produced from a sol-gel precursor

A zirconium sol was produced from the hydrolysis and immediate peptization of a zirconium alkoxide, which was found to be stable with the addition of a large proportion of a strontium salt, even up to equimolar a mounts. Gel fibres were successfully blow spun from this doped sol, which on subsequent heating produced ceramic fibres of orthorhombic strontium zirconate. The f ibres were characterized by various techniques. The fibres were found to be gin forming SrZrO3 at 400 degrees C and were present as single phase orthor hombic strontium zirconate at 800 degrees C and above. The ceramic fibres h ad no discernible grain structure a nd the average crystallite size was cal culated to be on ly 20 nm at th is temperature, but the fibres contained sm all surface pores (< 0.2 mu m) which continued to increase in size on subse quent heating, resulting in a weak and brittle fibre. Therefore, more inves tigation is required into sintering and the development of high temperature properties. (C) 1998 Kluwer Academic Publishers.