Effect of pure-solvents without deflocculants for finer SiC particle dispersed MgO based composite

The deagglomeration process and its effects on the microstructure have been investigated for fine MgO, SiC powders and SiC particle added MgO mixed powders which were ball-milled under both polar- and non-polar solvent without deflocculants. During the drying, exothermic reactions are observed at 300-450 °C in MgO and SiC powders ball-milled in alcohol. On the other hand, no chemical reaction could be observed for the powders ball-milled using acetone, and n-hexane. The observed exothermic reactions, then, are believed to be due to the oxide and/or oxide layer-alcohol reaction product formed during milling. This mechano-chemical reaction directly affects to deagglomerate during the drying process after wet-milling. Among the alcohol media, the well-dispersibility and deagglomeration of SiC powders as well as MgO powders seem to be reached by n-butyl alcohol, considering the balance between the steric effects and the dielectric constant of alcohol. These dispersion characteristics also effect on the microstructure of SiC particle dispersed MgO based composites.