Effect of Si/Zr molar ratio on the sintering and crystallization behavior of zircon ceramics

Zircon (ZrSiO4) ceramics have been widely used in the field of radioactive waste immobilization and ceramics industry. However, preparation of zircon ceramics suffers from low yield due to the variable Si/Zr molar ratio. Herein, we reported preparation of xSiO2/ZrSiO4 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.3) ceramics using SiO2 and ZrO2 as raw materials. The effects of Si/Zr molar ratio and sintering temperature on the phase formation, phase and microstructure evolutions were investigated. The results indicated that zircon formation efficiency increased with increasing Si/Zr molar ratio from 1 to 1.2, while decreased with increasing Si/Zr molar ratio from 1.2 to 1.3. The as-prepared ceramics with Si/Zr molar ratio of 1.1 and 1.2 were single zircon phase, while with Si/Zr molar ratio of 1 and 1.3 exhibited coexistence of zircon and cristobalite phases. The grain growth and compactness can be enhanced by increasing Si/Zr molar ratio. Furthermore, the relative densities increased with increasing Si/Zr molar ratio.