Fabrication of stable Al2O3 slurries and dense green bodies using soft-energy milling process

Wet-jet milling and planetary homogenizing processes as soft-energy milling methods were employed as a novel method to prepare stable Al2O3 slurries. The viscosity of slurries prepared from the soft-energy milling was constant and stable for long time, as compared to ball-milled slurries. Though Al2O3 particles surface after ball milling yielded more hydroxyl groups, Al2O3 particles surface after the soft-energy milling was similar state to raw particles surface. Relative density of the green bodies prepared from the wet-milled slurries was about 67% and was independent on the slurry solid content. On the other hand, the relative density of the green bodies prepared from the ball-milled slurries increased with increasing solid content. Linear shrinkage of the sintered bodies prepared from the soft-energy milled slurries was independent of the slurry solid content, whereas that of the sintered bodies prepared from the ball-milled slurries increased with decreasing solid content.