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By Masahiro Yoshimura, Sergiy Korablov

"Hydi-othermal corrosion ofTiN, TlAlN and CrN PVD films (3 µm thick) deposited on SUS-304 substrate was studied in 100MPa water in 20-950°C temperature range up , to 750h. The beginning temperature of their reaction was determined as 200°c for TiN and TiAlN and 500°C for CrN films, which are quite low in comparison with that of air oxidation of those powders. Very thin oxide scales. of TinO; n-I homologous series phases were formed above 300°C. TiO2 anatare. is observed for TIN and TiAlN films at 400°C. The· feature of hydrothermal corrosion of CrN films seems to be CrNxOy phase formation.Distinguishable weight changes were observed at higher temperature than 700°C for TiN, 750°C for· TiAlN and 800°C for CrN respectively. Hydrothermal corrosion kinetics .was constructed to calculate the activation energy of hydrothermal corrosions. On the base of obtained data, hydrothermal corrosion resistance was as follows: TiN – TiAlN - CrN. Facetted oxide crystals were formed at higher temperature than 500°C for TiN, TiAlN and 850°C forCrN.IntroductionThe metallic nitride (TiN; TiAlN, CrN) PVD films have high hardness, strength and wear resistance. Therefore these films are widely used in industry for wear resistij.nce application such as cutting tools and die molds. Their performances depend on not only the mechanical properties but also corrosion resistance of coated films. High temperature oxidation of metalliq nitride and nitride films was well studied [1-5]. However there are no reliable data concerning the .corrosion resistance of coated nitride materials. In high-temperature and high-pressure water. There are a few reports on hydrothermal corrosion of nitride films [6,7]. The increase of corrosion resistance of CVD films was observed in following succession TiC - TiCNO - TiCN - TiN at 300-680°C temperature interval and I 00 MPa pressure water according to data of the first report. Kawana et al. [7] have reported about excellent corrosion resistance of CrN films under 290°C and 8, 6 MPa water during I 000 h in the circulating type experimental loop. The films thickness was about 7-10 µm in both cases. However it remains unclear the chemical state of the surface species and especially in-depth distribution, oxide scale thickness and its growth, and defects formation in the oxide film."

Jan 1, 2000

By Gerardo H. Achurra

During the last years, the Caletones Smelter, like others copper smelters in the world, has evolved from the conventional, inefficient, pollutant and expensive technologies, to modern, environmental1y friendly and efficient ones. For this reason as wel1 as to improve its competitive position this Smelter shut down the reverberatory furnace, started up two big acid plants and has developed some pyrometal1urgical technologies. The main facilities of the Caletones Smelting and Converting Process, in the present and the future, are the Teniente Converters, the reactors with a high operational availability that have reached concentrate top process capacities near to 2,400 tpd. These reactors operate in most of Chilean smelters as well as in other smelters in the world such as in Zambia, Peru and Mexico. Since 2000, the Caletones Smelting and Converting Process, has been adapted in two Teniente Converters, four Slag Cleaning Furnaces and four Pierce Smith Converters. These facilities, together with the operation of two Fluidized Bed Dryers and two Oxygen Plants have allowed to reach concentrate smelting capacities and copper productions of 1,250 ktpy and 380 kftpy, respectively. Associated to El Teniente Division Expansion Plan, Caletones Smelter, in the first stage, will increase its capacity to 1,440 ktpy in 2004. In the long term, Caletones has different options, such as the processing of 1,600 to 2,000 ktpy of concentrate, producing anodes, white metal or a mixture of them. These options are connected with CODELCO's Smelters & Refineries Strategic Plan, including Mejillones Project. The main challenges of Caletones Smelter are associated to the development and the consolidation of the Continuous and Environmental Friendly Processes, automation and control of different processes and to the improvement of its leadership between other Copper Smelters in the world.

Jan 1, 2003

By Bin Zhu, Mingmei Zhu, Hong Zhou, Xiaofei Dou, Bin Xie, Yu Wang, Tiancheng Lin

In this study, the formation of 2CaO·SiO2 and 3CaO·P2O5 solid solution (nC2S-C3P) in hot metal dephosphorization process is discussed. The variations of CaO and SiO2 mass, both in nC2S-C3P solid solution phase and liquid slag phase with increasing P2O5 mass in CaO-SiO2-FetO-P2O5 slags were calculated using Factsage software. CaO-SiO2-FeOt-P2O5 slag containing up to 18 % P2O5 was melted at 1823 K then cooled to 1673 K. The contents of CaO and SiO2 both in the solid solution phase and liquid slag phase of quenched samples were observed and analyzed by SEM/EDS. Both the calculated and experimental results show that the contents of CaO and SiO2 in the solid solution phase decreased, just opposite in the liquid slag phase, with increasing P2O5 content in the slags. Formation mechanism of nC2S-C3P solid solution in the slags was derived based on the ionic structure theory of molten slag. The SiO4 4- in the nC2S-C3P solid solution can be replaced by PO4 3- in the liquid phase resulting in the increasing of free Ca2+ and SiO4 4- in liquid phase.

Jan 1, 2015

By Edmundo Manilla, Merete Tangstad, Daniel Davila, Eli Ringdalen

FeMn alloys are typically produced with lumpy ore or sinters. Minara Autlan, the Mexican FeMn producer, is however making Mn-nodules as a raw material for Mn-alloy production. The Mn nodules have been characterized by XRF, XRD, by wet chemical methods and by EPMA. The Mn/Fe ratio is somewhat lower compared to commercial Mn ore on the marked. The basicity of the ore is however close to 1, and additional fluxes may not be used. The Mn-nodules will be in a state of manganosite (MnO), tephroite ((Mn, Ca)2SiO4) and galaxite ((Mn,Mg)Al2O4). This leads to a low melting temperature area. A low porosity and low amount of higher Mn-oxides gives a high thermal strength to the nodules.

Jan 1, 2016

By Jie Li, Shu Yang, Zhongliang Tian, Xun Hu, Yanqing Lai

The purity of the electrolyte has an important influence on the content of the impurities in electrodeposited silicon. In this paper, effects of electrolysis temperature, current density and the time on the concentrations of two important impurities: phosphorus and iron in the electrolyte were investigated during the purification of Na3AlF6-10%K2SiF6-AlF3 melt. It was observed that the concentrations of P and Fe in the electrolyte decreased with the electrolysis temperature, current density and the electrolysis time increasing. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) of the electrolyte shows that the concentrations of P and Fe decrease from 4.2ppmw to 1.3ppmw and 204.0ppmw to 42.6ppmw, respectively. The removal rates of P and Fe are 69.08% and 79.12% when the electrolysis was performed for the duration of 3 hours and at a current density of 20mA·cm-2 while the operating temperature was 1225K.

Jan 1, 2015

By Shekhar Bhansali, Shyam Aravamudhan

"This paper reports on the design and simulation results of a silicon bulk-micromachined diaphragm-type piezoresistive pressure sensor capable of operating linearly over a wide dynamic range (0-1000 meters of water). The piezoresistor elements of the sensor are arranged in a wheat stone bridge configuration to achieve a higher output response. Simulation results (output voltage and sensitivity analysis) obtained using coupled MemPZR-MemMech module of the CoventorWare2003 Finite Element tool are presented. The effect of diaphragm size, diaphragm thickness and thickness of the piezos on output sensitivity were analyzed and optimized to get a linear response over the wide dynamic range.IntroductionThe physical and biological processes in the ocean are critically influenced by ocean parameters (pressure, salinity and temperature). Thus there is a need to develop inexpensive and reliable sensors to continuously measure large volumes of sea-space over long time spans. A key component in any such system will be a pressure/depth sensor. This sensor is routinely employed in marine applications such as wave and tide gauges, tsunami detection, platform leveling etc. More significantly, pressure measurement is needed for depth determination. Depth sensors are vital for remote operated vehicles (ROVs), profiling instruments and towed arrays.Several techniques have been routinely used in the past to measure pressure in the marine environment [1-3]. In general, the pressure sensor design is based on a flexible membrane as the spring element for the sensing pressure [4]. The deflection of the membrane, induced by the applied pressure, is converted into an electrical output through a component that is sensitive to diaphragm deflection (capacitive coupling) or associated stresses (piezoresistors, strain gauges). The temperature compensated pressure measurement can be readily converted to depth using"

Jan 1, 2004

By G. Kugler, M. Tercelj

"The 1.2690 high alloyed tool steel is usually applied for cold working and is alloyed with carbide-forming elements Cr, V, W and Mo. It exhibits very poor hot deformability. Since there is no enough available data in literature for elucidation of this problem, hot workability and development of microstructure during hot deformation was studied. Hot compression tests were carried out in temperature range 850-1150 °C and strain rates range 0.001-6 s-1. SEM and OM were used for observation of microstructure. Results revealed very complex precipitation of carbides that depends on deformation temperature as well as on strain rate. It was found that especially at lower temperatures of hot working range the precipitation of carbides strongly depends on strain rate. Three different hot deformation behaviors’ were observed depending on temperature and strain rate range.IntroductionThe hot workability of highly alloyed high speed steels is usually described as relatively poor in comparison to other steels due to their tendency of cracking during hot working especially when inappropriate hot working conditions are applied. Alloying elements such as Cr, W, Mo and V in ledeburitic tool steels form carbides that improve hardenability, strength, hardness, wear resistance, etc., but they decrease hot workability and narrow hot working temperature range in comparison to conventional steels. The size, distribution, type and fraction of carbides, as well as the thermomechanical history of material and hot working parameters have major influence on the hot workability. The microstructure of ledeburitic tool steels during hot deformation can be characterized as a two-phase system consisting of an austenite matrix and a combination of ledeburitic carbides [1-4]. In the soft-annealed condition the total volume fraction of carbides is in the range 19-30% and in the quenched condition in the range 9-25%, depending on the chemical composition. During heating before deformation a large quantity of carbides dissolve, but non-dissolved carbides can have an extremely diverse influence on the hot workability due to variations in their composition, size, distribution, hardness and shape, and their different behavior during the deformation phase [5-7]."

Jan 1, 2011

By Wang Chen

COREX process is briefly introduced. A static model combining a set of mass and heat balance equations has been developed. Taking the specified inputs from the graphical user interfaces, the model is capable of calculating the consumption of raw materials and fluxes, the volume and composition of the slag and the volume and composition of the generator gas. The model enables the examination of the changes of materials and energy flows induced by the variations of operational parameters and raw materials chemical analysis. The model allows a detailed process analysis and adjustment of the plant operation and can thus be used to improve plant operation.

Jan 1, 2008

By Gerardo H. Achurra

During the last years, the Caletones Smelter, like others copper smelters in the world, has evolved from the conventional, inefficient, pollutant and expensive technologies, to modern, environmentally friendly and efficient ones. For this reason' as well as to improve its competitive position this Smelter shut down the reverberatory furnace, started up two big acid plants and has developed some pyrometallurgical technologies. The main facilities of the Caletones Smelting and Converting Process, in the present and the future, are the Teniente Converters, the reactors with a high operational availability that have reached concentrate top process capacities near to 2,400 tpd. These reactors operate in most of Chilean smelters as well as in other smelters in the world such as in Zambia, Peru and Mexico. Since 2000, the Caletones Smelting and Converting Process, has been adapted in two Teniente Converters, four Slag Cleaning Furnaces and four Pierce -Smith Converters. These facilities, together with the operation of two Fluidized Bed Dryers and two Oxygen Plants have allowed to reach concentrate smelting capacities and copper productions of 1,250 ktpy and 380 kfipy, respectively. Associated to EI Teniente Division Expansion Plan, Caletones Smelter, in the first stage, will increase its capacity to 1,440 ktpy in 2004. In the long term, Caletones has different options, such as the processing of 1,600 to 2,000 ktpy of concentrate, producing anodes, white metal or a mixture of them. These options are connected with CODELCO's Smelters & Refineries Strategic Plan, including Mejillones Project. The main challenges of Caletones Smelter are associated to the development and the consolidation of the Continuous and Environmental Friendly Processes, automation and control of different processes and to the improvement of its leadership between other Copper Smelters in the world.

Jan 1, 2003

By R. Schaller, Ch. Karcher, A. Thess

"Electron beam evaporation of liquid metals is an innovative technology increasingly used in industry to produce very thin coatings of high purity. In this process the surface of a metal ingot, placed in a water-cooled copper crucible, is heated by bombarding it with a high-energy electron beam gun. The material melts, forming a free surface and eventually starting to evaporate. The rising vapor cloud condensates as a thin film on a moving substrate. The strong energy input at the free surface gives rise to vigorous thermos capillary and buoyancy driven convective motion within the melt, leading to unwelcome heat losses. This paper aims to show how these losses can be reduced by optimizing the geometry of the crucible and by using external magnetic fields. We present both experimental and numerical results.IntroductionElectron beam evaporation of liquid metals [l] is an innovative PVD-technology which is excellently suited for the industrial production of high-quality coatings. In this vacuum process a high-energy electron beam heats up the surface of a metal ingot. The ingot melts and forms a free surface. A schematic view of the arrangement is shown in Figure 1. When the temperature of the free surface exceeds the actual (pressure-dependent) saturation temperature of the ambient gas, the liquid starts to vaporize. The rising vapor cloud finally condensates on a moving substrate located at some distance above. To guarantee a superior quality of the coating the melt is typically confined in a water-cooled copper crucible. The intensive cooling is necessary to avoid chemical reactions between the melt and the crucible walls, that is, crucible materials and their reaction products are practically excluded from evaporation."

Jan 1, 1999

By L. Katgerman, H. J. Brinkman, J. Duszczyk

"The phase formation sequence in the in-situ synthesis ofTiB2 in A1 from elemental A1, Ti and B powders is identified with a combination of DSC and XRD. After the melting of A1, A1B2 and A13 Ti are formed at the contact areas between A1-B and A1-Ti. The influence of variations in starting composition on the reaction kinetics is explained in terms of there effect on the different processes in the formation sequence. Parameters in the starting composition that were investigated are; fraction ofTiB2 forming reactants, non stoichiometric Ti:2B ratio's, and addition of alloying element Cu.It was found that a liquid Al phase is necessary for the in-situ TiB2 forming reaction from the intermediate A1B2 and A13 Ti phases. If all Al is consumed by the formation of A1B2 and A13 Ti the TiB2 formation is halted until the decomposition of A1B2 and A13 Ti .Overstoichiometric amounts of B are needed for complete conversion of the Ti, present in A13Ti, into TiB2 This is explained by the fact that some of the stable A1B12 phase is formed after the decomposition of A1B2•The addition of Cu leads to an increasing reaction rate in the A1-Ti reaction. A possible explanation for this is that the A1-Cu liquid penetrates more easily between the Ti and its surface oxide than the unalloyed A1 liquid."

Jan 1, 1998

By B. J. Jody

At Argonne National Laboratory, we have been developing a potentially economical process to recycle automobile shredder residue (ASR). We identified three potentially marketable materials that can be recovered from ASR and developed technologies to recover and upgrade these materials. We built and tested a field-demonstration plant for recycling polyurethane foam and produced about 2,000 lb (907 kg) of recycled foam. Several 300-lb (I36-kg) samples were sent for evaluation and were found to be of marketable quality. We are also preparing for a large-scale test in which about 200 tons (181 tonnes) of ASR-derived fines «0.25 in. [<0.62 cm]) will be used as a raw material in cement making. A major cement company has evaluated small samples of fines prepared in the laboratory and found that they meet its requirements as a substitute for iron ore or mill scale. We also produced about 50 lb (23 kg) of recycled acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) from obsolete automobiles and found that it has properties that could be readily upgraded to meet the specifications of the automotive industry. In this paper, we briefly discuss the process as a whole and summarize the results obtained from the field work on foam and fines recycling.

Jan 1, 1996

By Helmut Antrekowitsch

Nowadays nearly the half of the world zinc production is used for galvanizing. After their life span most of the galvanized products return as scrap to the steel mill During the steel process the zinc is collected in the flue dust It is astonishing to notice that between 40 and 50 % of the zinc produced is brought into the steel processing cycle by the coated scrap while only 3 to 5 % of the zinc production can be covered by the recycling of the zinc-bearing steel mill dusts. Responsible for this worse ratio is the fact that the established recycling technologies suffer from high energy consumption, low zinc yields, halogen problems and hardly any iron recovery. A development of new or an optimization of current recycling procedures for the dusts is unalterable because of increasing zinc amounts in these residues and the rising costs for the disposal. Different pyrometallurgical recycling technologies are tested in rotary kilns and vertical retorts at the Department of Nonferrous Metallurgy, University of Leoben, Austria. Various reducing agents from carbon monoxide to hydrogen and combinations are used. The results should make it possible to draw conclusions that allow an economical and ecological judgement of the different varieties. The goal is to support the affected industry to increase the low recycling rate and prevent a loss of high zinc values in the steel industry filter dusts.

Jan 1, 2003

By Helmut Antrekowitsch

Nowadays nearly the half of the world zinc production is used for galvanizing. After their life span most of the galvanized products return as scrap to the steel mill. During the steel process the zinc is collected in the flue dust It is astonishing to notice that between 40 and 50 % of the zinc produced is brought into the steel processing cycle by the coated scrap while only 3 to 5 % of the zinc production can be covered by the recycling of the zinc-bearing steel mill dusts. Responsible for this worse ratio is the fact that the established recycling technologies suffer from high energy consumption, low zinc yields, halogen problems and hardly any iron recovery. A development of new or an optimization of current recycling procedures for the dusts is unalterable because of increasing zinc amounts in these residues and the rising costs for the disposal. Different pyrometallurgical recycling technologies are tested in rotary kilns and vertical retorts at the Department of Nonferrous Metallurgy, University of Leoben, Austria. Various reducing agents from carbon monoxide to hydrogen and combinations are used. The results should make it possible to draw conclusions that allow an economical and ecological judgement of the different varieties. The goal is to support the affected industry to increase the low recycling rate and prevent a loss of high zinc values in the steel industry filter dusts.

Jan 1, 2003

By Mohamed Y. Bakr, Aly M. Abdel-Rehim

The present work is related with mechanical activation of processing of Egyptian wolframite by simultaneous ball-milling and pressure alkaline leaching, to improve the recovery of tungsten from wolframite. The results show a total recovery of tungsten from wolframite (97.8- 98.7%) by simultaneous ball–milling and alkaline leaching at temperature 175-200oC. It is concluded that processing of wolframite by simultaneous ball- milling and leaching is mechanically activated and accelerated as a result of the grinding action of steel balls that caused the immediate rupture by continuous removing the product layer of the reaction ( sodium tungstate and iron and manganese hydroxides ) from reacting particle surfaces. This leads to the exposing of fresh and activated wolframite particle surfaces to alkaline leach solution and consequently the acceleration of the reaction of wolframite leaching .The results of the kinetic study 0f alkaline processing of wolframite and its mechanical activation show that the system is under kinetic control.

Jan 1, 2015

By Yongqi Sun, Zuotai Zhang

Hot slags, at the temperatures of 1450-1650 oC, carry a substantial amount of high quality thermal energy, which represents the largest undeveloped energy source in the steel industry. However, the waste heat recovery rate in China is less than 2%; thus there is a great potential of waste heat recovery. In this study, we investigated a chemical method to extract the waste heat from high temperature blast furnace slags, i.e., sludge gasification. Sewage sludge, another substantial waste produced in the municipal system, need to be timely disposed, the organics of which could be gasified using the waste heat in the slags for the purpose of syngas production. Both the kinetics and thermodynamics of the sludge gasification process were clarified here. Most importantly, an integrated system composed of multiple systems such as the steel industry, the cement industry, the municipal system and the chemical engineering industry, was analyzed in this study.

Jan 1, 2016

By Corby G. Anderson

Hydrometallurgical technology for the pretreatment of refractory gold concentrates has been developed at Sunshine Mining and Refining Company. It employs a patented nitrous-sulfuric acid pressure leaching process which&apos; was proven industrially at the Sunshine refinery. Additionally, pretreatment for removal of antimony and some other impurities is done with alkaline sulfide leaching. This paper will discuss the successful application of these two technologies for pretreatment of a refractory gold concentrate prior to CIL gold recovery. A complex gold concentrate composed of pyrite, arsenopyrite and stibnite was tested. Results of antimony leaching in alkaline sulfide media will be discussed including some details of a novel and selective recovery method for gold leached by polysulfide or thiosulfate" Also, the factors important in and the results of the application of nitrogen species catalyzed pressure leaching to refractory gold concentrates will be detailed.

Jan 1, 1996

By J. P. Gu, C. Beckermann

"Melt convection and macrosegregation in casting of a large steel ingot is numerically simulated. The simulation is based on a previously developed model for multicomponent steel solidification with melt convection, and involves the solution of fully coupled conservation equations for the transport phenomena in the liquid, mush, and solid. Heat transfer in the mold and insulation materials, as well as the formation of a shrinkage cavity at the top are taken into account. The numerical results show the evolution of the temperature, melt velocity, and species concentration fields during solidification. The predicted variation of the macrosegregation of carbon and sulfur along the vertical centerline is compared with measurements from an industrial steel ingot that was sectioned and analyzed. Although generally good agreement is obtained, the neglect of sedimentation of free equiaxed grains prevents the prediction of the zone of negative macrosegregation observed in the lower part of the ingot. It is also shown that the inclusion of the shrinkage cavity at the top is important in obtaining good agreement between the predictions and measurements.IntroductionMacrosegregation in large steel ingots is one of the most well-known and now classical problems in the field of solidification and casting [1]. Commonly found macrosegregation patterns in steel ingots are a positively segregated zone at the top, negative segregation near the bottom in the equiaxed zone, inverse segregation near the ingot surface, V-segregates along the centerline, and A-segregates in the columnar zone [2, 3]. It is well established that the macroscopic transport of species leading to macrosegregation can occur by a variety of mechanisms, including thermally and solutally driven natural convection of the melt in the mushy zone, flow due to solidification contraction, and the sedimentation of free equiaxed crystals. Fredriksson and coworkers [ 4,5] provide recent overviews of the solidification transport phenomena and macrosegregation in ingot casting."

Jan 1, 1999

By Hiromichi Ohta

Precise thermal properties of molten materials are essentially required for analyzing the metal production process. These properties are also important as a clue to consider the dynamic structure of liquid materials. However, it is difficult to obtain the precise thermal diffusivity values of molten oxides at high temperature because of the experimental uncertainties arising from the bubble formation or the severe separation of radiative and conductive heat components. Recently a novel laser flash method has also developed for measuring thermal diffusivity of molten oxides at high temperature. In this new technique, the sample is melted in a metal crucible and heated to the desired temperature. A single laser pulse is flashed on the bottom of the metal crucible and the infrared ray irradiated from the same bottom surface is measured for obtaining the temperature decay, from which the thermal diffusivity of the liquid sample can be estimated. The usefulness and validity of this new laser flash technique have been confirmed by obtaining the thermal diffusivity values of silicate melts in the wide temperature range between 773 and 1673 K.

Jan 1, 2003

By T. C. Goel, A. Venna, R. G. Mendiratta

"Processing of ferrites has gained tremendous importance in recent times to meet the high performance demands on ferrites in keeping with the fast emerging· technologies. The quality of ferrite powders has strong influence on ·the performance of final device. Fabrication· of high performing ferrite components requires starting ferrite powders of precise stoichiometry, purity and microstructure. It is difficult to obtain these attributes by the conventional ceramic method. The key to obtaining quality powders lies in the· solution techniques. With this in view soft ferrites have been prepared by a wet chemical process, known as the citrate precursor method, which involves the formation of citrate complexes of the constituent cations. The advantages of this process are the ease of preparation and close control of composition, homogeneity, purity and particle size. Electrical and magnetic measurements on lithium ferrites have shown resistivity higher by more than two orders of magnitude compared to that observed for samples prepared by the conventional ceramic method, and low magnetic losses, making the ferrites specially suitable for high frequency applications.IntroductionProperties of ferrites are known to be sensitive to .their processing technique. A small deviation in the compositional stoichiometry of the ferrite affects its properties greatly. Soft ferrites such as Ni-Zn, Mn-Zn and Mg-Mn. are well known ferrites covering wide-ranging applications [1,2]. Lithiiim ferrites have also assumed technological importance for microwave applications and are potential substitutes for the expensive garnets [3]. Lithium ferrites are often doped with zinc to tailor the saturation magnetization required at high frequencies. Lithium and lithium-zinc ferrites, however, present difficulty to processing due to the volatile nature of both the cation components, namely Li and Zn. These ions are volatile at temperatures > 1000°C which makes their processing difficult. One of the main considerations of high frequency performance of ferrites is the high eddy current losses which prevent the interaction of the magnetic field with the ferrite component and hence impair device performance. These losses can be reduced by having a material of high resistivity. Electrical conductivity in lithium ferrite has been attributed to electron hopping [4] between the two vaience states of iron, Fe2+ <=> Fe3+, on octahedral sites. Maintaining the + 3 valence state of otahedral- Fe ions is thus a prerequisite for achieving high resistivity. The resistivity of ferrites is normally found to be low when processed by the conventional solid-state or the ceramic method [5]. This is attributed to (a) extensive ball-milling employed in the method to mix the component oxides results in non-stoichiometric compositions due to introduction of additional Fe ions on abrasion of steel balls during milling, (b) high processing temperatures involved which result in significant volatilization of Li and Zn ions creating thereby oxygen non-stoichiometry which results in reduction of Fe3 + to Fe2 +, (c) large and non-uniform grain sizes. In the present work, preparation of Li and Li-Zn ferrites by a non-conventional method known as a citrate precursor method [6, 7] which requires lower processing temperatures and duration is reported. The method gives stoichiometric compositions on account of homogeneous atomic-scale mixing of the constituent cations via the formation of metal-citrate complexes mixed in solution state. The method is also capable of giving small grain size which aids the oxidation ofFe2+ ions."

Jan 1, 2000