Mullite Ceramics: Its Properties, Structure, and Synthesis (Juliana Anggono)

Mullite Ceramics: Its Properties, Structure, and Synthesis

Juliana Anggono
Lecturer, Faculty of Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering Department - Petra Christian University
Email: julianaa@petra.ac.id

Abstract
Besides its importance for conventional ceramics, mullite has become a choice of material for advanced
structural and functional ceramics due to its favourable properties. Some outstanding properties of mullite
are low thermal expansion, low thermal conductivity, excellent creep resistance, high-temperature strength,
and good chemical stability. The mechanism of mullite formation depends upon the method of combining
the alumina- and silica-containing reactants. It is also related to the temperature at which the reaction
leads to the formation of mullite (mullitisation temperature). Mullitisation temperatures have been reported
to differ by up to several hundred degrees Celsius depending on the synthesis method used. The three
synthesis methods used to prepare mullite are discussed in this paper together with an overview of mullite,
its properties and the current application of mullite.

Keywords: mullite, mullitisation, glassy phase, sol-gel, spray pyrolysis, chemical vapour deposi-
tion

Abstrak
Keramik mullite tidak hanya penting dalam penggunaan konvensional, tetapi juga sudah
menjadi bahan pilihan untuk aplikasi struktural dan fungsional karena sifat-sifatnya yang
menguntungkan. Beberapa keunggulan sifat mullite adalah sifat muai dan konduktivitas
panasnya rendah, ketahanan mulur yang tinggi, kekuatan yang terjaga pada temperatur tinggi,
dan sifat korosinya yang baik. Mekanisme pembentukan mullite bergantung pada bagaimana
proses menggabungkan reaktan yang mengandung alumina dan silika. Mekanisme tersebut
juga bergantung pada temperatur reaksi awal yang akan mengarah pada pembentukan mullite
(mullitisation). Beberapa penelitian melaporkan terjadinya temperatur mullitisation yang
bervariasi hingga beberapa ratus derajat Celsius bergantung pada proses sintesa yang
digunakan. Artikel ini menjelaskan tiga proses sintesa yang menghasilkan mullite yang dibahas
bersama dengan sifat-sifat dan aplikasi mullite saat ini.

Kata kunci: mullite, mullitisation, fasa glassy, sol-gel, spray pyrolysis, chemical vapour deposi-
tion.

1. Introduction temperature mullite phase. (Bowen, Greig et al.,

1924) It was not until the 1970s that the signi-
Mullite is an alumino-silicate compound that is ficance of the inherently favourable properties of
used extensively in traditional refractory applica- mullite was recognised, when the mechanical
tions. Most traditional ceramic products have behaviour in compression of mullite specimens, free
mullite as part of their final phase composition since or nearly free of a glassy phase, was first studied.
they usually contain some clay and silicon as Mullite is becoming increasingly important in
starting materials. The microstructures of the electronic, optical, and high temperature structural
materials also contain a relatively low melting glass. applications, because of its low dielectric constant,
Natural mullite is rare in nature; it is named good transparency for mid-infrared light and
after one of the few known deposits on the Isle of excellent creep resistance. Classical uses of mullite
Mull, United Kingdom. (Bowen and Greig, 1924) include refractories in the metallurgical industries
The occurrence of this compound on the Isle of Mull for electric-furnace roofs, hot metal mixers and low-
is thought to be a result of post-Caledonian volcanic frequency induction furnaces. In the glass Indus-
activities in which clay mineral deposits, heated tries, these refractories are employed in the upper
through contact with magma, produced a high structure of the tank in which the glass is melted
st
and for constructing the drawing chambers. Mullite
Note: Discussion is expected before July, 1 2005. The proper
discussion will be published in “Jurnal Teknik Mesin” volume 7,
is frequently used as kiln setting slabs and posts for
number 2, October 2005. firing ceramic ware as well as for the linings of high-

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temperature reactors. However, during the last goal of high temperature stability requires the grain
decade, the spectrum of actual or potential employ- boundary to be free from glass. This is particularly
ment of mullite now includes its use as a matrix difficult to achieve in mullite ceramics because of its
material for high-temperature composite develop- low bulk and surface diffusivities, which are the
ment, a substrate in multilayer packaging, reason for its high temperature stability. The
protective coatings, turbine engine components, and processing of mullite is therefore especially impor-
an infrared-transparent window especially for high- tant if a dense ceramic capable of fulfilling its high-
temperature application. (Tummala, 1991; Prochaz- temperature potential is to be achieved. Table 1
ka and Klug, 1983) One approach to improve the summarises the range of characteristic properties
environmental durability of silicon-based ceramics now being achieved in dense mullite ceramics.
is to apply refractory oxide coatings containing no
silica or those with a lower silica activity. Mullite is
Table 1. Typical Properties of Mullite Ceramics.
most promising because of its environmental
(Lee and Rainforth, 1994)
durability, chemical compatibility, and coefficient of
thermal expansion (CTE) similar to that of SiC. Density (g cm-3) 3.16-3.22
Coatings of mullite applied by atmospheric plasma Hardness (GPa)
spraying (APS) to SiC ceramic matrix composites At RT 13-15
provides some degree of corrosion resistance to At 1000 oC 10
corrosive industrial environments. (Van Roode, RT fracture toughness KIc (MPam1/2) 1.5-3
Price et al., 1988) Young’s Modulus (GPa) 140-250
These new interests have sparked extensive Bend strength (MPa) 150-500
studies on the synthesis and processing of mullite Thermal expansion coefficient (x106 K) 3.1-4.1 //a
and mullite-based composites by molecular and/or 300-900 oC 5.6-7.0 //b
colloidal methods and also on techniques for 5.6-6.1 //c
producing mullite protective layers. Thermal conductivity (Wm-1K-1)
Mullite rarely occurs in nature, so it is usually At 100oC 6.07
synthesised, rather than mined. Various prepara- At 600oC 4.31
tion methods and starting materials are used for the At 1000oC 3.98
synthesis of mullite ceramics. The preparation At 1400oC 3.89
methods can be classified into three different
preparation routes as follows: (1) sinter-mullite, (2) The slow diffusion kinetics which make the
fused-mullite (3) chemical-mullite (high-purity
material so difficult to sinter also impart excellent
mullite). The synthesis of mullite ceramics together
with important processing routes to fabricate high temperature microstructural stability. This
monolithic mullite ceramics are described in this behaviour is in marked contrast to some other
paper. ceramics such as hot pressed silicon nitride (HPSN)
which contains sufficient glassy phase at the grain
boundaries. The grain boundary glass has a critical
2. Properties of Mullite Ceramics
effect on high-temperature properties. Rapid soften-
Mullite has been used for high-temperature ing of the glass and microcracking can occur as the
exposed parts because of its good creep resistance test temperature is raised, degrading high-tempera-
and high compressive strength at elevated tempera- ture strength loss. In contrast, mullite usually only
ture. Flexural strength and creep resistance at has a minimal grain boundary glassy phase, if any,
elevated temperatures are significantly affected by reducing the damaging effects of grain boundary
the presence of glassy boundary inclusions; in the
sliding and micro- cracking. Bend strength values
absence of grain boundary glassy phase, polycrys-
can vary from as low as 120 MPa to over 400 MPa.
talline mullite retains > 90% of its room-tempera-
ture strength to 1500oC, (Mah and Mazdiyasni, The differences can be partly explained in terms of
1983; Kanzaki, Tabata et al., 1985; Ismail, Nakai et the density achieved, the morphology of the grains
al., 1986; Ismail, Nakai et al., 1987; Kumazawa, and the presence of additional crystalline and
Ohta et al., 1990; Kumazawa, Kanzaki et al., 1988; amorphous phases.
Ohnishi, Kawanami et al., 1990) with excellent In the polycrystalline form, the most essential
thermal shock resistance, and low thermal requirement for retaining the strength of mullite at
conductivity. (Becher, 1991; Somiya and Hirata, elevated temperatures appears to be the elimination
1991; Nixon, Chevacharoenkul et al., 1990) of glassy boundaries. As shown in Fig. 1, two typical
Depending on the microstructural features, the low
curves are observed. The first type shows a signify-
fracture toughness of mullite, typically of the order
cant increase in strength at about 1300oC. The
of 2 MPam1/2 is regarded as a significant factor in
limiting the potential applications. Moreover, the second shows no distinct maxima and decrease

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Mullite Ceramics: Its Properties, Structure, and Synthesis (Juliana Anggono)

slightly with increasing temperature. When poly- 3. Structure of Mullite

crystalline mullite contains a small amount of
glassy phase at the grain boundaries, a noticeable 3.1 Crystal Chemistry of Mullite
increase in strength occurs above the softening The crystal structure of mullite (nominally
temperature of the glassy inclusions. The increase 3Al2O3.2SiO2) is orthorhombic with the space group
in strength was considered to be associated with Pbam and unit cell dimensions a = 0.7540 nm, b =
some form of stress relaxation and/or crack healing 0.7680 nm and c = 0.2885 nm for the stoichiometric
composition. (Angel and Prewitt, 1986) An [001]
by softening of the glassy phase at high tempera-
projection of an ideal unit cell is shown in Fig. 2,
tures. When the glassy phase is crystallised to form from which it can be seen that mullite consists of
cristobalite, the peak in strength disappears, but the chains of AlO6 octahedra at the edges and centre of
resulting mullite-cristobalite composite now retains the unit cell, running parallel to the c-axis. These
its strength up to 1400oC. (Kumazawa, Ohta et al., chains are joined by (Al,Si)O4 tetrahedra forming
1990) The initial increase in strength corresponds to double chains, which also run parallel to the c-axis.
a similar increase in fracture toughness caused by Mullite possesses a defect crystal structure
the blunting of the cracks with the viscous phase. (Burnham, 1964) consisting of chains of slightly
distorted Al-O octahedra which run parallel to the c-
(Kumazawa, Kanzaki et al., 1988; Kumazawa, Ohta
axis of the orthorhombic unit cell. These chains are
et al., 1990)
linked by discontinuous double chains of Al-O and
Dokko et al. (1977) were the first to show the Si-O tetrahedra with randomly distributed alumi-
high creep resistance of mullite. Single crystals nium and silicon atoms. The discontinuities in the
tested up to 1500oC and under stress levels of latter chains are caused by the movement of some of
900MPa, no plastic deformation was observed. the aluminium (and possibly silicon) ions into
(Dokko, Pask et al., 1977) There is limited creep normally unfilled tetrahedral positions because of
data on mullite and some disagreement as to the insufficient oxygen atoms present to bond to them in
the normal positions. The occupation of these new
creep mechanisms. Ohnishi et al. considered that
sites also increases the coordination of the remain-
Coble creep occurred in a sol-gel derived mullite.
ing oxygen atoms and forces them into new
(Ohnishi, Maeda et al., 1990) However, Dokko et al. positions that are slightly different from their
identified a Nabarro-Herring mechanism. (Dokko, original locations. The connection of octahedra and
Pask et al., 1977) Once again differences may be tetrahedra chains produces relatively wide
partly explained by the processing techniques structural channels that also run parallel to the c-
employed. axis.

Figure 1. Flexural strength as a function of temperature for

mullite and mullite composites. Phase-pure mullite
retains > 90% of its strength at 1400oC. Glass
containing mullite, however, starts losing its strength
above 1300oC after an initial increase due to the Figure 2. Projection of the ideal orthorhombic mullite unit cell
presence of the viscous phase. After the along the [001] direction showing T to T* transition
crystallisation of this phase to cristobalite, the of the cations (indicated by an arrow) which is
behaviour resembles that of phase-pure mullite. associated with the formation of an oxygen
(Kumazawa, Kanzaki et al., 1988; Kumazawa, Ohta et vacancy and readjustment of oxygen in the O(3)
al., 1990) positions. (Aksay, Dabbs et al., 1991)

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This defect structure accommodates no-stoichio- 3.3 Mullite Microstructure

metry and the average composition of mullite may
The final phase constitution depends strongly
range from close to 3Al2O3.2SiO2 to 3Al2O3.SiO2 on the processing conditions and substantial diffe-
(commonly denoted as 3:2 and 3:1). The comp- rences in behaviour have been identified between
ositional variation in mullite (an increase in Al3+ mixing on the atomic scale compared with the 10-30
solubility) is achieved by substitution of an Si4+ and nm range. (Pask, Zhang et al., 1987) These include
removal of an oxygen (3) ion from an (Al,Si)O4 differences in transient phases and final phase, the
tetrahedron leaving an oxygen vacancy, and by a presence or not of a grain boundary silica phase and
change in position of the cations in partially the morphology of the mullite grains. The presence
occupied columns as shown by moving T to T* in of a liquid silicate phase is associated with the
Fig. 2. The cation shift is approximately 0.12 nm development of microstructures having prismatic
and results in the loss of the tetrahedral mullite grains. High aspect ratio mullite grains are
coordination of these cations. The overall change typical of mullites with a residual glassy phase
may be summarised as: while equiaxed structures are associated with the
absence of a grain boundary glassy phase (Fig. 3).
2 Si4+ + O2- → 2 Al3+ + (1)
where represents the oxygen vacancies. However,
the octahedral AlO6 units remain unaltered by
solubility changes. It is common therefore, to write
the structure as:
AlVI2 (AlIV2+2x Si2-2x)O10-x (2)
where IV and VI represent the four- and six-fold
coordination of aluminium cations respectively and
x denotes the number of missing oxygen atoms per
average unit cell. The value of x can vary between
0.17 and 0.59 (70.5-83.6 wt.%) and so mullite can
exist with a wide range of Al:Si ratios. (Cameron,
1977b) For x=0 the above formula represents the Figure 3. TEM micrograph of mullite with an equiaxed
composition of the three polymorphic modifications: microstructure and grain boundaries free from
glassy phase. (Lee and Rainforth, 1994)
sillimanite, andalusite, and kyanite (Al2SiO5), which
are at least partially related to mullite in terms of
Figure 4 demonstrates that high sintering
their structure, whereas x=1 represents the che-
temperatures (1730oC for 48 hours in this case) can
mical composition of the assumed ι-Al2O3 phase. give two-phase (diphasic) alumina-mullite micros-
(Saalfeld, 1962) However, the more common range tructures, which may be single-phase mullite when
for mullites formed by solid-state reaction sintering sintered at lower temperatures.
is x=0.25 (3:2) to x=0.4 (2:1). The change in
composition is associated with a change in the
lattice constants.

3.2 Chemistry of Mullite

The composition of mullite is commonly denoted
as 3Al2O3.2SiO2 (71.83 wt.% Al2O3). However,
commercially available mullite which is a solid
solution generally consists of 71-76 wt.% Al2O3, 23-
24 wt.% SiO2, and small quantities of TiO2, Fe2O3,
CaO and MgO. Stoichiometric (3Al2O3.2SiO2)
mullite can be produced without a glassy grain
boundary phase which results in high strength
being maintained to high temperatures. As the
composition moves away from stoichiometry a
glassy grain boundary phase forms, reducing the Figure 4. Nomarski micrograph of a 76.5 wt.% alumina
material’s strength, and lowering the maximum use mullite after 48 h at 1730oC; the sample was etched
temperatures. to show the alumina particles (light) in a mullite
matrix (darker). (Klug, Prochazka et al., 1987)

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4.1 Sinter-Mullite
In conventional processing methods, mullite
powders are shape formed and sintered. This
mullite is designated ‘sinter-mullite’. The term
sinter mullite describes a mullite which has been
produced from its starting materials essentially by
solid-state diffusion controlled reactions. Oxides,
hydroxides, salts, and silicates can be used as the
starting materials. The Al2O3 content of sinter-
mullites is influenced by the sintering temperature,
the duration of heat treatment, the initial bulk
composition, by the nature, grain size and efficiency
of mixing of the starting materials, and also
Figure 5. Microstructure of reaction-bonded mullite contains whether α-Al2O3 nucleates. Mullitisation takes place
predominantly mullite and traces of tetragonal by solid-solid or transient liquid-phase reactions of
zirconia. (Wu and Claussen, 1991) the starting materials by aluminium, silicon, and
oxygen atom interdiffusion. Since this formation
Reaction-bonded mullite ceramics consisting of reaction is considered to occur by the diffusion of two
mullite and traces of tetragonal ZrO2 (Fig. 5) which components, the mullitisation temperature can be
is introduced by wear of the TZP (tetragonal lowered by using finer powders and also by better
zirconia polycrystal) balls during milling. Alumina is mixing. The starting materials of SiO2 and Al2O3
no longer detectable after the 1550oC hold. These components are usually of micrometre size, and are
ceramics have outstanding mechanical bending not small enough to accomplish complete mulliti-
strength (290 MPa) at high sintering densities (>97 sation at relatively low firing temperatures within a
% of theoretical density). (Wu and Claussen, 1991) reasonable duration of time. Another reason why
The sample shown in Fig. 5 was produced by sintering of mullite powders to high densities
oxidising Al and SiC at 1200oC to form α-Al2O3 and normally requires relatively high temperatures, is
SiO2. On further heating to 1550oC sintering because of the low bulk and grain boundary
occurred. diffusion coefficients for mullite. For example, the
mullitisation temperature was reported to be higher
than 1400oC when quartz particles below 2 µm in
4. Mullite Synthesis size and α-Al2O3 particles with the average particle
size of 0.3-0.5 µm were used. (Hamano, Sato et al.,
The preparation methods can be classified into 1986) Extensive mullitisation needs very high
three different preparation routes as follows: (1)
temperatures in the 1600 to 1700oC range (Sacks
sinter-mullite, (2) fused-mullite (3) chemical-mullite
and Pask, 1982a), which is too high to produce raw
(high-purity mullite). In terms of starting materials,
materials for sintering purposes. In order to lower
they can be grouped into the following six catego-
the mullitisation temperatures it is advantageous to
ries: (1) a mixture of solids such as oxides,
hydroxides, salts and clay minerals (2) a mixture of use systems in which the aluminium and silicon
sols (3) a mixture of sols and salts (4) a mixture of components are atomically mixed. Aluminium
Si-alkoxide and Al-salt (5) a mixture of Al-alkoxide silicate minerals, well known as mullite raw
and Si-alkoxide, and (6) a mixture of other mate- materials, are clay minerals such as kaolinite
rials. Homogeneity of raw materials depends largely (2SiO2.Al2O3. 2H2O) and pyrophyllite (4SiO2.Al2O3.
on the processing and synthesis method used, i.e. H2O), and also the Al2SiO5 polymorphs silimanite,
how to mix, precipitate, hydrolyse, or react SiO2 and kyanite, and andalusite. Admixtures of boehmite,
Al2O3 components. The mechanism of mullite for- diaspore both with the composition AlO(OH), and
mation depends upon the method of combining the gibbsite [Al(OH)3] and of refractory-grade bauxite
alumina- and silica-containing reactants. It is also with silica have also been used. (Schneider, Seifert-
related to the temperature at which the reaction Kraus et al., 1982; Schneider, Wang et al., 1986;
leads to the formation of mullite (mullitisation Schneider, Wang et al., 1987) In the classical
temperature). Mullitisation temperatures have been method of mullite preparation, kaolinite and related
reported to differ by up to several hundred degrees materials are thermally decomposed to mixed oxides
Celsius depending on the synthesis method used. and these transform to mullite by several steps at
The three synthesis methods used to prepare high temperature according to the reaction shown in
mullite are discussed in the following sections. Fig. 6.

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Figure 7. Schematic microstructural models of mullite

Figure 6. Series of reactions which make kaolinite trans- starting materials prepared by the various
forms into 3:2 mullite during heating. (Schneider, approaches (A) sol mixing; (B) composite particles;
Okada et al., 1994) (C) hydrolysis of alkoxides; (D) conventional
mixing of clay minerals and alumina; (E)
Where = vacancy and (a) and (b) are alterna- coprecipitation; (F) spray pyrolysis. (Okada and
tive spinel-type phases which their composition can Otsuka, 1990)
be seen in the work of Bulens et al. (Bulens, Leonard
et al., 1978) • Sol-Gel Method
The reaction between bulk samples of alumina There has been considerable interest in the
and silica occurs at relative high temperatures preparation of mullite from chemically synthesised
(>1550oC) by nucleation and growth at the interface precursors. In particular, sol-gel methods have been
between the two phases. used extensively to produce mullite powders, fibres
and bulk samples at relatively low processing
4.2 Fused-Mullite temperatures. (Sacks, Lee et al., 1990), (Aksay,
Dabbs et al., 1991), (Okada, Otsuka et al., 1991a) In
The term fused-mullite describes mullites which
sol-gel processing, colloidal particles or molecules in
have been produced either by melting the raw suspension, a sol, are subject to a chemical change
materials in an electric furnace above 2000oC with (e.g. pH change) which causes them to join together
subsequent crystallisation of mullite during cooling into a continuous network, called a gel. The sol-gel
of the bath, or by Czochralski crystal growth method allows the preparation of a homogeneous
techniques. (Guse and Mateika, 1974) The alumi- and reactive gel which can be sintered at low
nium silicate melt obtained is then cast into ingot temperature and consequently a homogeneous
molds and cooled to room temperature. Raw submicronic microstructure can be achieved. This
term covers preparation techniques using starting
materials for fused-mullite ceramics and refractories materials of admixtures of sols and also admixtures
are Bayer alumina, quartz sand, rock crystals and of sols and salts. In many cases, the reaction by this
fused silica. The impurity level of the raw materials method is essentially the same as that which occurs
is relatively low. For fused-mullite of lower quality, by a mixed solid (conventional method using oxides
bauxites or mixtures of Al2O3 and kaolinite have or silicates as discussed in section 4a in ‘Sinter-
also been used. Higher Al2O3 contents can be Mullite’), if the materials are mixed under wet
achieved by rapid quenching and lower Al2O3 bulk conditions. However, the particle size differs
significantly for the two preparation methods. The
composition or, alternatively, by a very slow cooling
particle size of sols is in the range of ten to several
process. The composition of mullite crystallised from tens of nanometres (nm) and is therefore much
liquids is primarily a function of temperature and, smaller than those used in the conventional method
to a lesser degree, of the initial composition. (several microns (µm)). Mullitisation, therefore,
occurs at lower temperatures than with mixed
4.3 Chemical-Mullite solids, e.g. 1200 to 1300oC. (Hamano, Sato et al.,
1986)
Mullite powders prepared by advanced pro- Ghate et al. (1973) cleverly utilised the proper-
cessing, e.g. sol-gel, precipitation, hydrolysis, spray ties of silica and alumina sols for mullite synthesis.
pyrolysis, chemical vapour deposition (CVD) (Ghate, Hasselman et al., 1973) They prepared an
techniques are designated ‘chemical-mullite.’ The alumina sol by dispersing γ-alumina particles in
general approach to powder processing is summa- HCl solution. Silica sol was added slowly to this
rised in Fig. 7 (Okada and Otsuka, 1990), which suspension and adjusted to pH 6-7. In this pH range
the surfaces of the alumina particles are positively
represents mixing of the Al3+ and Si4+ on scales
charged whereas those of silica particles are
ranging from the atomic to the micron level. Each negative. Therefore, heteroflocculation, which caus-
processing method to produce ‘chemical-mullite’ will es intimate mixing of two sol particles, can be
be discussed in the next section. expected.

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Mullite Ceramics: Its Properties, Structure, and Synthesis (Juliana Anggono)

Many studies have been reported using • Precipitation Method

admixtures of sols and salts as starting materials
for mullite synthesis. Fumed SiO2 with a particle Preparation of precipitates from a clear solution
size of less than several tens of nanometres is using a precipitant is the basis of this method. On
usually used for the raw material of the SiO2 sol. the other hand, similar methods with no particular
Aluminium salts used are sulphate, nitrate and precipitant were designated as hydrolysis. Many
chloride. These preparation methods were consi- studies have been reported and there are two kinds
dered to be advantageous compared with that of of precipitation methods: coprecipitation and homo-
admixtures of sols, because composite particles and geneous precipitation. The former involves adding a
not only mixed particles were expected to form precipitant (usually ammonia solution) to a solution
under certain conditions. Even if this is not the case, to form precipitates. The latter involves first
precipitation of the salt component is expected on dissolving a precipitant such as urea or hexame-
the surface of the sol particles, which act as thylenetetramine beforehand in the solution, and
heterogeneous nucleation sites. Composite particles subsequently forming a precipitate by changing the
can be prepared by adsorption, hydrolysis and solution pH through the decomposition of the
precipitation reactions of a salt component on the precipitant in the solution.
surface of sol particles. As shown in Fig. 8, the Many starting materials have been used as
mullitisation reactions from these two types of aluminium sources for the precipitation method:
starting materials are largely different. nitrates, sulphates, chlorides, alkoxides, etc. On the
other hand, the choice of the starting materials for
the silicon component is restricted. Silicon alkoxides
were commonly used and there have been only a
few reports of the use of sodium silicate, silicon
chloride and silicon acetate instead. (Ossaka, 1961),
(McGee and Wirkus, 1972)
There have been many reports on the prepa-
ration methods using a combination of silicon
alkoxide and aluminium salts. The starting compo-
nents of this technique are dissolved in ethanol and
precipitates are obtained by addition of ammonia
Figure 8. Schematic model for the two types of starting solution. Okada and Otsuka (1986) dissolved TEOS
material for a mixture of sol and salt (Okada, and aluminium nitrate in ethanol, and precipitates
Otsuka et al., 1991b) were obtained by adding ammonia solution during
vigorous stirring of the solution. (Okada and
The former shows spinel phase formation at Otsuka, 1986) Mullitisation occurred extensively by
around 1000oC and transforms to mullite by further firing at 1150oC for 24 hours and spinel phase
firing at higher temperatures (above 1200oC). On formation was observed before mullitisation at
the other hand, the latter shows direct mullitisation 980oC. Since the pH of the solution changed from
by firing at 980oC. Sacks et al. (1991) proposed a acidic to neutral on the addition of ammonia
new preparation method for composite particles solution, the precipitation was considered to be
with α-Al2O3 coated by amorphous SiO2 layers. initiated by the formation of nuclei of the alumi-
(Sacks, 1991) The concept is shown schematically in nium component with the accompanying silicon
Fig. 9. component to result in coprecipitation. The reason
for this is that the solubility of the aluminium ion
decreased quickly between the different pH condi-
tions whereas that of the silicon ion did not. The
particles obtained are very small but some inhomo-
geneity of the chemical composition exists because of
the above-mentioned coprecipitation mechanism.
The inner part of a precipitate is considered to have
an alumina-rich composition whereas the surface
parts are silica rich. Schematic microstructural
models for these particles are shown in Fig. 9.

• Hydrolysis Method
Figure 9. The concept of composite particles formation and
sintering mechanisms of mullite and SiC-mullite Preparation using a combination of silicon
composites developed by Sacks et al. (1991), alkoxides and aluminium salts and admixtures of
making use of transient viscous sintering. (Sacks, aluminium and silicon alkoxides have also been
1991) examined. Hydrolysis occurs by addition of water,

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 JURNAL TEKNIK MESIN Vol. 7, No. 1, April 2005: 1 – 10

and an acid or base is sometimes added as a catalyst

for hydrolysis of the alkoxides. A proposed model for
the hydrolysis reaction between alkoxide and water
in the solution based on the work of Yasumori et al.
is shown in Fig. 10. (Yasumori, Anma et al., 1989)
When a basic catalyst such as ammonia is used, the
hydrolytic reaction which results from the nucleo-
philic reaction of the silicon atom with the OH-
radical, is expected to occur. The susceptibility of
this reaction is strongly influenced by the degree of
steric hindrance of the radicals. The species of
Si(OR)3(OH) is more susceptible to attack by the
OH- radical than those of Si(OR)4 and hence, easily
forms Si-O-Si bonds by aging. Therefore, the
polymerisation reaction which occurs is more domi- Figure 11. SEM photographs of spray pyrolyzed mullite
nant than the hydrolytic reaction under this precursor powders prepared by Sakurai et al. (A)
condition. On the other hand, the nucleophilic B-1, (B) D-1 and (C) D-3 specimen. (Sakurai,
reaction corresponding to the proton is expected to Mizutani et al., 1988)
occur by means of an acidic catalyst. In this case,
Si(OR)4 is more susceptible to attack by the OH- • Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) Method
radical than Si(OR)3(OH) because the former species Almost all of the processes described above are
has a higher electron density around the silicon syntheses from a solution phase. In contrast, the
atom. The hydrolysis reaction to form silanol (Si- CVD method utilising vapour-phase processes has
OH) is, therefore, more dominant than the poly- also been applied for mullite synthesis. Hori and
merisation reaction in this case. Kurita used silicon and aluminium chlorides as
starting materials. (Hori and Kurita, 1990) The
chlorides were separately evaporated and were
transported by nitrogen gas to the mixing zone. In
the mixing zone they were quickly heated by a
hydrogen-oxygen combustion flame in which the
temperature was estimated to be 1900oC. The
temperature gradually decreased through the
reaction zone and was approximately 900oC at the
exit. The process time was estimated to be about 65
ms. The obtained powders were of spherical shape
and 40-70 nm in size. Small amounts of mullite and
Figure 10. Proposed model for the hydrolysis reaction a spinel phase were detected in the as-prepared
between alkoxide and water in the solution (A) specimens. Extensive mullitisation occurred after
with an acidic catalyst and (B) with a basic firing at 1000oC for 10 min but complete mulli-
catalyst. (Yasumori, Anma et al., 1989) tisation required temperatures as high as 1500oC.

• Spray Pyrolysis Method 5. Summary

This preparation method consists of the In spite of its rareness in natural rocks, mullite
atomisation of a precursor solution into droplets is one of the most important phase in the field of
which are subsequently driven through a furnace in conventional ceramics. Mullite can be found as the
order to dry and calcine them. Reactions such as main constituent in a pottery, porcelains, sanitary
evaporation of solvents, precipitation of compounds, ceramic, and structural clay products such as
and thermal decompositions occur instantaneously. building bricks, pipes and tiles. However, mullite is
Therefore, it is considered to be an appropriate becoming increasingly important since its out-
preparation method for the synthesis of multi- standing properties were recognised in 1970’s.
component ceramics. During the last decade, the spectrum of actual
The powders obtained by this process have application of mullite now includes its use as a
characteristic spherical shapes with a submicro- matrix material for high-temperature composite
metre to micrometre size. Scanning electron micros- development, a substrate in multilayer packaging,
copic (SEM) photographs of the mullite precursor protective coatings, turbine engine components, and
powders prepared by Sakurai et al. are shown in an infrared-transparent window especially for high-
Fig. 11. (Sakurai, Mizutani et al., 1988) Droplets temperature application. This paper also describes
were mainly prepared by two different methods, all the possible routes of mullite synthesis including
using atomizers and ultrasonicators, respectively. the recent innovations using fine-particle synthesis.

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Mullite Ceramics: Its Properties, Structure, and Synthesis (Juliana Anggono)

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