Effect of Spodumene Additions on the Sintering and Densification of Aluminum Titanate

The use of β-spodumene (Li2O·Al2O3·4SiO2) has been investigated as a liquid-phase sintering aid for the densification of aluminum titanate (AT) ceramics. XRD and DTA were used to characterize the effect of spodumene on the phase relations, sintering, and densification behavior of AT. The results show that the presence of spodumene significantly reduces the porosity and improves the densification of AT. The formation of sillimanite is observed for spodumene additions of 5 wt% or more. Spodumene-modified AT ceramics also have improved hardness and are expected to retain the excellent thermomechanical properties.