Effect of Palygorskite on the Sintering Process and Kinetics of Bone China

The sintering process of bone china bodies containing 0, 2, 4, and 6 wt % palygorskite was studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetry (DSC/TG), and dilatometric tests. According to the XRD and DSC/TG results, the increment of palygorskite increased the content of the amorphous phase and reduced the formation temperature of the early liquid phase in the bone china bodies. The shrinkage data showed that the starting sintering temperature and maximum shrinkage temperature of bone china bodies in the stage of liquid-phase sintering decreased by 20 and 15 °C via adding 6 wt % palygorskite, respectively. Also, the maximum shrinkage rose with increasing amount of palygorskite. Moreover, the kinetic analysis of shrinkage data was conducted by the Salem model. The value of the mechanism-characteristic exponent, m, rose from 0.62 to 0.91 by adding 6 wt % palygorskite. In addition, with increasing palygorskite, the value of activation energy, E _a, linearly reduced, and the value of rate constant A increased.