Effect of Fe₂O₃ additive agent on sintering properties of CaZrO₃ ceramics

Using analytical Ca(OH)₂ and m-ZrO₂ as the raw materials in the mole ratio of 1:1, the compacted cylinder samples of calcium zirconate (CaZrO₃) ceramics in the dimension of ø20 mm × 20 mm were synthetized by sintering at 1600 ℃ for 3 h, adding the Fe₂O₃ powders in different mass fractions as the additive agent.The effects of Fe₂O₃ additive agent on sintering properties, phase composition, and microstructures of CaZrO₃ ceramics were studied by apparent porosity density determinator, X-ray diffraction (XRD) diffractometer, and scanning electron microscope (SEM).The results show that, without the addition of Fe₂O₃, the sharking of CaZrO₃ samples is 12.72%, the bulk density and apparent porosity of sintered CaZrO₃ samples at 1600 ℃ are 3.92 g·cm^-3 and 14.9%, respectively, and the grain size of CaZrO₃ is only 4.22 μm.With the addition of Fe₂O₃ in mass fraction of 0.75%, the sharking of CaZrO₃ samples is 17.20%, the bulk density and apparent porosity of sintered CaZrO₃ samples at 1600 ℃ are 4.68 g·cm^-3 and 6.8%, respectively, and the grain size of CaZrO₃ reaches to 5.21 μm.