Preparation of Single Phase .BETA.-Spodumene Powders by Sol-Gel Process.

Abstract

The β-spodumene (Li2O⋅Al2O3⋅4SiO2, LAS) powders were prepared by the sol-gel process using a mixture of silica sol, alumina sol and lithium nitrate solution. Si(OC2H5)4, Al(OC4H9sec)3 and LiNO3 were used as the starting compounds. Thermogravimetric and differential thermal analyses (TG/DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), wavelength-dispersive spectroscopy (WDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electron diffraction (ED) analysis were utilized to characterize the β-spodumene powders prepared by the sol-gel process. The crystallization temperature of the LAS gel powder estimated by TG/DTA was about 630°C. When the LAS dried gel was heated from 600 to 850°C, the crystallized powders of the single phase β-spodumene were obtained.