PHASE ANALYSIS AND DENSIFICATION OF STEATITE-BASED CERAMICS

The effect of manganese oxide on the sintering of steatite-based ceramic was studied. Steatite powder used in this work was doped with varying amounts of manganese oxide—5% to 30% (wt). The green samples were cold-isostatically pressed and pressureless sintered at temperatures ranging from 950 °C to 1150 °C using varying holding times. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed no secondary phases detected in any samples regardless of dopant addition and sintering conditions. It was revealed that the bulk density of steatite ceramic increased with manganese oxide when sintering at 1050 °C. However, sintering at 1100 °C using 1 minute holding time was found to be the most effective in enhancing the bulk density as well as the Vickers hardness of manganese oxide-doped steatite ceramic.