Quartz ceramics modified by nanodispersed silica additive

Abstract

The article considers one of the ways to improve physical and technical characteristics of Quartz Ceramics. The method consists in adding the sintering activator into the quartz ceramic composition, i.e. Nanodispersed Silicon Dioxide obtained by means of sol-gel method based on Ethyl Silicate or Tetraethoxysilane. The amount of the additive amounts to 10 wt.%. Samples containing the activator absorb water 40-45 % less than the samples without activator, while the mechanical strength is increasing by 1.2-1.3 times. Moreover, this activator prevents the formation of Cristobalite phase being undesirable in the Quartz Ceramics.