Archives of Metallurgy and Materials

Abstract

composites can be obtained by the infiltration of molecular titanium precursors into presintered α-Al 2 O 3 (corundum) cylinders. Two titanium tetraalkoxides, and two dialkoxy titanium bis(acetylacetonates) serve as precursors for TiO 2 (rutile) and Al 2 TiO 5 (tialite). The precursors were infiltrated as ethanolic solutions. After sintering at 1550, 1600, and 1650°C, the prepared ceramics' properties were investigated by SEM, in-situ HT-XRD, and conventional XRD. Titanium tetraisopropoxide leads to the highest content of Al 2 TiO 5 in the composite. The more reactive the precursor, considering the Al 2 O 3 /precursor interface, the lower and more anisotropic the grain growth, the more homogeneous is the TiO 2 contribution and the higher is the content of Al 2 TiO 5 . Raising the sintering temperature causes an increase of the crystalline Al 2 TiO 5 con tent as well as of the grain growth. Moreover, the reactivity of the precursor molecule influences the Ti/(Al + Ti) ratio in the obtained tialite phase.