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Synthesis And Consolidation Of The Aluminosilicate Mineral Anorthite, Lauren E. Eccles

Pursuit - The Journal of Undergraduate Research at The University of Tennessee

Solid-state ceramic synthesis is a fabrication process involving high temperature reactions of solid component powders and is used to prepare materials with novel and advanced properties. Regarding synthetic mineral ceramics, the solid-state process makes it possible to design synthetic minerals with specific compositions and properties not commonly found in their natural, comparatively impure, counterparts. This study focuses on the synthesis of the feldspar anorthite, CaAl₂Si₂O₈, via solid-state procedures and the densification of the synthesized powders using the technique of uniaxial hot-pressing. Constituent powders of aluminum sesquioxide (Al₂O₃), silicon dioxide (SiO …