Investigating the effect of sintering rate and solvent type on the liquid transport kinetics of α-alumina powder compacts

Oct. 23, 2023, midnight - by Mohammed Al-Sharabi , Daniel Markl , Vincenzino Vivacqua , Prince Bawuah , Natalie MacLean , Andrew P.E. York , J. Axel Zeitler

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The transport of liquids into ceramic catalytic materials is influenced by both the properties of ceramic materials and the penetrating liquid. Terahertz pulsed imaging (TPI), coupled with a flow cell, was employed to examine the transport dynamics of both polar and less polar solvents within a variety of α-alumina powder compacts. TPI findings indicate that alumina samples subjected to the highest heating rate (200 °C h−1) exhibit the swiftest water transport. Moreover, TPI reveals that the transport of 1-octanol through alumina samples is considerably slower compared to water, owing to the significantly higher viscosity of 1-octanol. As 1-octanol is semi-transparent to terahertz radiation, it enabled the exploration of the liquid transport process and structural changes occurring behind the liquid front. This included studying alterations in the refractive index of the compact and the fill fraction of 1-octanol within the compact over time.

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