Fabrication and properties of SrO-ZnO-P₂O₅ glass-Al₂O₃ composites

Glass-ceramic composites consisting of 10SrO·50ZnO·40P₂O₅ (SZP) glass and Al₂O₃ with various particle sizes and specific surface areas were fabricated for the barrier-rib of plasma display panel. The variations of density, microstructure, bending strength and thermal expansion coefficient with Al₂O₃ contents were studied for SZP/Al₂O₃ composites. The positively or negatively charged surface state of SZP and Al₂O₃ particles was estimated from the pH of the aqueous suspensions prepared using the mixture of SZP glass or Al₂O₃ particles with 10 vol% and distilled water with pH 7 without pH adjustment. The combination of SZP glass and Al₂O₃ raw materials with similar charged surface state provides a dense SZP/Al₂O₃ sintered composite with a relatively-high bending strength and with a homogeneous microstructure.