STUDY OF PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS OF A SYNTHESIZED MULLITE

Abstract

The use of ceramics as substrates for photovoltaic cells lends itself well to the various thin film deposition techniques. The mullite Al2O3-2SiO2 is a very good material for this application. It can be synthesized by different methods. The best indicated way is to enrich kaolin with alumina. In this work we studied the different transformations of phase of kaolin and kaolin- aluminum slag mixtures are studied. The raw materials used are local (from Algeria).During heat treatment, the kaolin- aluminum slag mixture undergoes several transformations of phase leading to the formation of mullite. The beginning of crystallization of the primary mullite is at 1000 ° C .The firing of the kaolin at 1400 °C led to the formation of the larger quantity of mullite but for the mixture led to the acceleration of the formation of secondary mullite. At 1500 ° C, the mullitization of the mixture is almost complete