Publication Date:
2018-02-01
Description:
Controlling the parameters during synthetic rutile production is essential to minimize production costs and ensure final product quality. Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) is typically used within the industry to guide process control. This work investigated the source of unusual features observed in the PXRD pattern of a slow-cooled reduced ilmenite (RI), which were not observed for a rapid-cooled RI. For the slow-cooled RI, the 002 peak ofM3O5(anosovite) had disappeared and the intensity of the ar 203, 203, 204 and 402 peaks had decreased significantly compared to the pattern for the rapid-cooled RI. Using transmission electron microscopy, selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and pair distribution function (PDF) analysis, the authors attribute these features toM3O5–anatase intergrowth formation, which causes a loss in long-range order along theM3O5caxis. Strong diffuse streaking in the SAED patterns was also evident and supported the presence of disordered intergrowths from the oxidation ofM3O5. PDF analysis showed a significant improvement in the fit to the data for the slow-cooled RI, primarily in the
Print ISSN:
0021-8898
Electronic ISSN:
1600-5767
Topics:
Geosciences
,
Physics
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