Effects of CeO2 on phase transformation towards cordierite in MgO-Al2O3-SiO2 system

The properties of cordierite ceramic depend upon additives and phase transf ormation in sintering. XRD and DTA techniques are used to study the effects of CeO2 upon the transformation towards cordierite. As the experimental re sults show, with an increase of CeO2 content, the temperature drops at whic h cordierite forms through diffusion in solid state; when liquid has occurr ed, the crystallization temperature first drops with CeO2 content and then rises, the lowest measured temperatures being at 2-4 wt.% of CeO2. The effe ct of CeO2 can be associated with the alteration of ion diffusion. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.