Preparation of Mullite Fibers by Sol-Gel Process and Study of Their Morphology

Abstract

Mullite fibers were prepared by sol-gel method using aluminum lactate (AL) and tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS). The AL was prepared by mixing aluminum nitrate and lactic acid in molar ratio of 1:3. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis were used to characterize the properties of the gel and ceramic fibers. The gel fibers completely transformed to mullite fibres at 1200°C. The morphologies of fiber were affected by the diameter size, while the fibers were sintered with a heating rate of 10°C/min. The mullite fibers were obtained with smooth surface for 33 and 42 micro meter diameter fibers. But shots and cracks were observed on fiber surface when the fiber diameter was 46 µ m.

Keywords:

• Fibers
• Preparation
• Morphology
• Mullite

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work was supported by the Shaanxi University of Technology Foundation (SLGQD1101) and the Natural Science Foundation of Shaanxi in China (No. 2010K10-21).