Green Properties of Dry Pressed Alumina Compact Prepared Using Aloe Vera Gel and Sucrose as a Binder

The present study is focused on the scope of aloe vera (AV) gel and sucrose as a binder to prepare green ceramic compact samples through dry pressing. The alumina compacts having 0-14 wt% (0-2.8 wt% on dry basis) AV gel and 0-2 wt% sucrose binder have been prepared as a function of moisture content at optimum compaction pressure. The green properties of the resulting samples have been characterized through SEM, FTIR, etc and compared with other binders. Primary results revealed that alumina compact with an optimum binder content attained maximum green density and flexural strength. The maximum green density and maximum green flexural strength are 64% and 13.5 Mpa, respectively. The experimental results have also been correlated with the microstructure of green compacts. Dry pressed compacts are sufficiently strong for green machining. The strength of binder-based green ceramic samples has been attributed to better particle packing due to adsorbing and plasticizing properties of AV gel and sucrose binder, as revealed by IR analysis. The sintered properties of fired samples at 1600 degrees C have exhibited minimum (2.3%) porosity. Therefore, the current study creates a scope of AV gel and sucrose as a binder for the green processing of alumina based compacts.