Synthesis of Fe<sub>3</sub>Si-Ti(C<sub>0.3</sub>, N<sub>0.7</sub>) Multiphase Composite Ceramic from Iron Tailings and its Properties

Abstract

The output quantity of iron tailings increases rapidly with the development of metallurgical industry and the growth of the requirement for minerals in the world, which could cause severe hazard to our environment. Therefore, it is very important to recover and reuse these tailings to protect the environment and use natural resources effectively. In this paper, the Fe-Si-Ti multiphase composite ceramic has been synthesized from the Iron ore tailings of Panzhihua region with the carbothermal reduction nitridation (CRN) method. The phases and microstructures of sintered body were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FSEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The XRD pattern indicates that the main phases of the samples are Fe3Si and Ti(C0.3, N0.7). Meanwhile, FSEM and EDS show that Fe3Si is surrounded by Ti(C0.3, N0.7). Besides, the physical properties of the sample are tested, especially the wear resistance. The test results show that the synthesized Fe3Si-Ti(C0.3, N0.7) composite ceramic has good wear resistant property, high hardness and larger thermal expansion coefficient, which indicates it can be used as the abrasion-proof material or transition layer between the metal and inorganic coating. At last, based on FSEM and EDS, the microstructure and elements of the abraded surface of sample is analyzed.