Wet processing of mullite/molybdenum composites

The main objective of this work is to show that the difficulties involving substantial differences in particle size and density of commercial molybdenum and mullite powders, when attempts are made to produce homogeneous and/or functionally graded materials, can be overcome by intelligent choice of processing parameters. The flocculant effect of an anionic polyelectrolyte on Mo particles in water and in alcohol media has been shown. On this basis, an appropriate selection of solids loading and surfactant addition allows us to achieve the processing of mullite/molybdenum composites with a controlled metal distribution and microstructure.