Phase evolution and dynamics of cerium-doped mullite whiskers synthesized by sol–gel process

The effects of CeO2 doping of aluminosilicate on mullite formation and the morphology of mullite whiskers are evaluated herein. CeO2-doped mullite precursors were generated by a sol–gel process. The introduction of CeO2 into the aluminosilicate precursor (3Al2O3·2SiO2) not only lowered the mullite formation temperature, but also promoted the crystallization of mullite grains. The mullitization activation energies calculated based on non-isothermal differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were 473 and 722 kJ mol−1 for the 2 mol% CeO2-doped and undoped samples, respectively.