Preparation and properties of high-temperature resistant inorganic phosphate-based adhesive for connecting quartz glass at elevated temperatures

Abstract

To develop a high-temperature-resistant adhesive specifically for quartz glass, several groups of aluminum phosphate-based adhesives with different P/Al ratios and Si/B4C ratios were prepared, and the bonding performance and mechanism were systematically analyzed. Adding Si and B4C affected the decomposition process of phosphates, mainly in terms of the types of decomposition products and the crystal transformation of phosphates. Their addition avoided the generation of metaphosphate and improved the component stability of the adhesive matrix. The oxidation of Si and B4C brought about considerable quality compensation, which was crucial for maintaining the structural integrity of the adhesive layer. Besides, the oxidation products further reacted with the adhesive and quartz substrate to form ceramic or glass phases, significantly improving the bonding performance. When the P/Al ratio and Si/B4C ratio were 2:3 and 10:3, APSB adhesive presented the best performance. After curing at room temperature or pre-treatment at 1200 °C, the bonding strength reached 16.3 MPa and 14.6 MPa, respectively. After pre-treatment at 1200 °C, APSB could provide above 6 MPa in extreme environments with the range of RT∼1200 °C. The thermal shock resistance of APSB was superior to its thermal cycling resistance. After 10 thermal shocks at 600 °C, 800 °C, and 1000 °C, the bonding strength of APSB is 4.52 MPa, 4.33 MPa, and 7.33 MPa, respectively. Nevertheless, the CTE of APSB adhesive after sintering remained stable at 5.4 × 10−6 K−1, which was still significantly different from the CTE (0.5 × 10−6 K−1) of quartz glass. Therefore, there is great potential for developing low-expansion adhesives in the near future.