Synthesis of mullite from a mixture of a-Al 2 O 3 + b-SiO 2 and native kaolin-based materials in the presence of nanodisperse aluminum is reported. In both cases, addition of nanodisperse Al increases the yield of mullite and stabilizes its structure.Materials based on mullite (3Al 2 O 3 × 2SiO 2 ), owing to their unique mechanical and thermophysical properties, have been gaining ever-increasing acceptance in the production of refractories and engineering ceramics. Mullite may be used as a single basic phase or in combination with oxide [1] or metallic ingredients [2]. Nanodisperse metallic powders, owing to their high reactivity, can be used both as components of a metal ceramic composites and as an active mixture component involved in the solid-phase synthesis of new phases [3]. Heating mixes containing nanodisperse aluminum in an oxidizing medium initiates sequential reactions of which metal oxidation and mullitization are central.The synthesis of mullite containing nanodisperse aluminum was carried out by heating mixes of two composition: (i) based on oxides of aluminum and silicon and (ii) based on kaolinite with aluminum oxide added. Aluminum oxide was calcined vibroground alumina (a-Al 2 O 3 ) with average particles size of 5.6 mm; silicon dioxide was a finely ground sand (from the Tuganskoe deposit) treated using hydrocyclone and electroseparator techniques. The basic component was b-SiO 2 (up to 99.10%) and the minor components were iron oxide (0.04%) and aluminum oxide (0.46%); the average size of wet-ground particles was 10 mm. The major component of kaolin mixes was kaolin from the Zhuravlinyi Log deposit; the base material was ³ 97.5%, the total of minor oxides was £ 2.41%.The mullitization reaction was activated by adding ultradisperse aluminum with an average particle size of 80 nm. Aluminum was added at a concentration of 0.2 -5 wt.%. The proportion of components in the mixtures was in conformance with the mullite stoichiometry. The aluminum concentration was corrected for subsequent oxidation to Al 2 O 3 . The specimens were molded by semi-dry pressing under a load of 50 MPa and heated in air at a rate of 1.5 K/min to 1000°C; on reaching this temperature, the heating rate was increased to 200 K/h. The holding time at maximum temperature varied from 30 min to 5 h. The synthetic mullite phase was quantitated by an x-ray reflection peak (110) (interplanar spacing 0.540 nm).The synthesis of these two types of specimens and the involvement of nanodisperse aluminum exhibit specific features. The synthesis in kaolinite-containing mixtures is more energetically favorable in comparison to the pure-oxide process. Mullitization of kaolinite in the early stage involves the formation of a "primary" mullite with the onset at about 1200°C; at temperatures above 1300°C, a "secondary" mullite is formed. The rate of formation of mullite in mixtures containing natural kaolin at 1300°C is higher than that in oxide-containing mixtures (Fig. 1); for this reason, the activating effect due to the high-disperse additive ...