3D analysis of ceramic powder sintering by synchrotron X-ray nano-tomography

In-depth investigation of the sintering phenomena in ceramic powders remains challenging, with the typical size of the individual particles being around 1 mu m or less, i.e., at the resolution limit of X-ray micro-tomography (mu CT). This has been dealt with, thanks to the state-of-the-art hard X-ray nano-analysis beamline at the upgraded European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF). Complete 3D images were obtained for representative ceramic powder systems with a voxel size as low as 25 nm, so as to depict particles and pores with adequate details and follow the entire sintering process. Subsequent quantitative image analyses were used to explore microstructural changes, including the evolution of relevant sintering parameters with respect to the grains and the pores. Notably, a study adopted in this research on the advancement of pore curvatures can be linked to tracking the stages of sintering.