Abstract
Calcination of thorium oxalate in hydrogen is found to yield black powder — a mixture of carbon and thorium oxide. Reheating in air eliminated the carbon and resulted in white ThO 2 powder. Optimum compaction pressure has been suggested to be that at which axial and diametral sintering shrinkages of a cylindrical pellet are equal. The effects of the additives MgO and Nb 2O 5 and the effect of furnace atmosphere on the sinterability of ThO 2 have been investigated and the interdependence of additive and atmosphere has been brought out. 0.25 mol% of Nb 2O 5 in ThO 2 lowers the sintering temperature in air from 1600–1700°C to 1150–1200°C. Air sintering of niobia added thoria thus provides an economical alternative to conventional hydrogen sintering. A novel thermal etching technique has been used to reveal the microstructure of sintered thoria.
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