Synthesis of Li2TiO3 ceramic breeder powders by the combustion process

The synthesis of the ultra-fine Li2TiO3 powder by the combustion reaction of lithium nitrate, titanium nitrate and specific fuels was investigated. Ultrafine Li2TiO3 powders could be synthesized using glycine or a mixture of urea and citric acid. A pure Li2TiO3 phase was obtained by the simple process without further calcination reaction. The specific surface area of the as-synthesized powder was 10 to 14 m(2)/g and the primary particle size was about 30 nm. The Li2TiO3 body sintered at 800 degrees C for 3 h had dense agglomerates which were formed by the inter-agglomerate sintering process. Each of the agglomerates consisted of very fine grains with a size of 0.3 to 0.5 mu m. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.