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Feature Papers in Refractories and Ceramics: Microstructure, Properties and Applications (3rd Edition)

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Advanced and Functional Ceramics and Glasses".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 January 2026 | Viewed by 2570

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Zhong Huang

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Guest Editor
The State Key Laboratory of Refractories and Metallurgy, Wuhan University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, China
Interests: functional refractory; refractory castable; powder technology; porous ceramic; nanomaterials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Bin Li

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Guest Editor
School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, China
Interests: refractory; structure ceramics; nanomaterials; high-temperature ceramic; powder technology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Refractories, as a class of ceramics with high fusion points, are basic materials in high-temperature industries such as metallurgy, cement/glass production and thermal power. Today, “new refractory” is being developed to not only meet the high-temperature demands of fine structure and precise regulation but also to design and tailor ceramics with special functional requirements, such as the purification of liquid steel, energy conservation, low carbon emissions and pollution reduction. In terms of eco-friendliness, long life and safety, the overall performance (e.g., mechanical strength, thermal/chemical stability, corrosion/oxidation/thermal shock resistances and workability) of “new refractory” can be greatly improved with the development of new material systems, the precise control of microstructures and use of intelligent manufacturing technology.

The “new refractory” is extending the development of design and preparation of traditional high-temperature ceramics and allows significant improvements in high-temperature industries with economic and environmental impacts. In addition, the “structure–function” relationship of these ceramics, related to their high-temperature service performance, needs to be discovered for every application.

This Special Issue focuses on the development of new refractories and novel ceramics. The potential topics concerning the microstructure, properties and applications of ceramics include but are not limited to the following:

  • functional refractory;
  • novel ceramics;
  • non-oxide ceramics;
  • high-temperature heat-insulating materials;
  • green ecological refractory;
  • refractory castable;
  • refractory raw materials;
  • high-temperature behavior;
  • refractory and inclusions.

Dr. Zhong Huang
Dr. Bin Li
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • refractory
  • ceramics
  • non-oxide ceramics
  • castable
  • green refractory
  • raw material
  • microstructure
  • high-temperature processes and behaviors

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Related Special Issues

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 6687 KiB  
Article
Optimization of Properties of Calcium Hexaluminate-Based Insulating Castables with Calcium Aluminate Cement
by Yufeng Xia, Cuijiao Ding, Wei Luo, Haizhen Yang and Wenjie Yuan
Materials 2025, 18(10), 2354; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18102354 - 19 May 2025
Abstract
In the context of global energy scarcity, thermal insulation castables have garnered significant attention from the steel industry to reduce energy consumption. To optimize the performance of calcium hexaaluminate (CA6)-based insulating castables, a systematic comparative study was conducted on the influence [...] Read more.
In the context of global energy scarcity, thermal insulation castables have garnered significant attention from the steel industry to reduce energy consumption. To optimize the performance of calcium hexaaluminate (CA6)-based insulating castables, a systematic comparative study was conducted on the influence of varying amounts of calcium aluminate cement (CAC) incorporated into the castables. The results indicated that the addition of more CAC could increase the initial flowability of the castables with an air-entraining agent (AEA). Conversely, the flowability of the castables containing alumina bubbles continuously decreased after 30 min and 60 min. The apparent porosity of castables with only added AEA and alumina bubbles after being dried at 110 °C and treated at 1300 °C presented a decreasing trend as CAC content increased. Under the joint action of AEA and alumina bubbles, the amplification in porosity of castables treated at 1300 °C was positively correlated with the amount of CAC. The increase in CAC content could enhance the strength of samples, with a particularly notable improvement observed in castables prepared with the addition of AEA. For castables prepared with AEA and CAC contents of 9 wt.%, the cold modulus of rupture and cold crushing strength after heat treatment at 1300 °C were 17.5 MPa and 80.5 MPa, respectively. The thermal conductivity of castables presented non-monotonic change with the increase in CAC content. The effect of elevated CAC content on the pore fractal dimension of castables depended on the pore-forming methods. Grey correlation analysis (GCA) demonstrated that pore sizes in the range of 500–1000 nm, pore fractal dimensions, and pore sizes less than 500 nm had the highest degrees of correlation with CMOR, CCS, and thermal conductivity, respectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers in Refractories and Ceramics: Microstructure, Properties and Applications (3rd Edition))
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25 pages, 14457 KiB  
Article
New Mcconnellite Ceramic Pigment as a Selective Solar Absorber: Effects of Microwave Firing and Rare Earth Doping
by Guillermo Monrós, José Antonio Badenes, Carolina Delgado, Guillem Monrós-Andreu and Mario Llusar
Materials 2025, 18(7), 1520; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18071520 - 28 Mar 2025
Viewed by 256
Abstract
CuCrO2 (mcconnellite) was synthesized using both the solid-state method and microwave dielectric firing. It was characterized as a novel black ceramic pigment for use in various industrial glazes. For the first time, the application of mcconnellite (CuCrO2) and its coloured [...] Read more.
CuCrO2 (mcconnellite) was synthesized using both the solid-state method and microwave dielectric firing. It was characterized as a novel black ceramic pigment for use in various industrial glazes. For the first time, the application of mcconnellite (CuCrO2) and its coloured glazes as selective solar absorbers (SSA) for integral ceramic solar collectors has been reported. The addition of quartz or anatase as colour modifiers was investigated to prevent the bluing of the pigment in Zn-containing glazes, a phenomenon associated with the exsolution of copper. Furthermore, doping with lanthanide oxides was explored to address two key challenges: controlling the formation of pinhole defects in porcelain glazes, which are linked to the destabilization of Cu+, and adjusting the IR cut-off wavelength to improve its performance as SSA. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers in Refractories and Ceramics: Microstructure, Properties and Applications (3rd Edition))
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14 pages, 23867 KiB  
Article
Solid-State Synthesis for High-Tetragonality, Small-Particle Barium Titanate
by Tianyu Hao, Jing Shen, Qiaochu Peng, Jie Liu, Wenbin Hu and Cheng Zhong
Materials 2024, 17(22), 5655; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17225655 - 20 Nov 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1090
Abstract
This study successfully synthesized high-tetragonality barium titanate (BaTiO3) particles with a small particle size by implementing ball milling in the solid-state synthesis of BaTiO3 and utilizing nanoscale raw materials. This study also addressed the issues of impurities and uneven particle [...] Read more.
This study successfully synthesized high-tetragonality barium titanate (BaTiO3) particles with a small particle size by implementing ball milling in the solid-state synthesis of BaTiO3 and utilizing nanoscale raw materials. This study also addressed the issues of impurities and uneven particle size distribution that could exist in the synthesized BaTiO3 particles. The crystal structure, morphology, and particle size of the synthesized BaTiO3 particles have been meticulously analyzed and discussed through the use of techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the laser particle size analyzer. BaTiO3 has been successfully synthesized, exhibiting a uniform particle size with an average diameter of 170 nm and a high tetragonality value of 1.01022. This new solid-state synthesis method provided insights to avoid the impact of “size effects” during the process of electronic device miniaturization. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers in Refractories and Ceramics: Microstructure, Properties and Applications (3rd Edition))
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13 pages, 5616 KiB  
Article
Experimental Study on the Effect of Calcium Aluminate Cement Addition on the Drying and Physical Properties of Refractory Castables Containing Colloidal Silica
by Antti Piippo, Kyösti Ruotanen, Ville-Valtteri Visuri, Niko Poutiainen and Eetu-Pekka Heikkinen
Materials 2024, 17(21), 5308; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17215308 - 31 Oct 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 801
Abstract
Colloidal silica-bonded castables offer several advantages compared to traditional calcium aluminate cement (CAC)-bonded castables, including lower torque values during mixing, superior drying properties, and a lower CaO content. Nevertheless, information on the combination of CAC and colloidal silica is limited, and the effect [...] Read more.
Colloidal silica-bonded castables offer several advantages compared to traditional calcium aluminate cement (CAC)-bonded castables, including lower torque values during mixing, superior drying properties, and a lower CaO content. Nevertheless, information on the combination of CAC and colloidal silica is limited, and the effect of CAC additions on the drying properties of colloidal silica-bonded castables remains unknown. In this study, these drying properties were measured by rapidly heating 400 kg samples to 500 °C and assessing the resulting damage to each sample. Additionally, the physical and chemical properties of small-scale samples were analyzed to evaluate the impact of CAC addition. The analyzed properties included cold crushing strength (CCS), density, permanent linear change (PLC) and weight loss. The microstructure of the samples was investigated by FESEM and EDS. The results indicate that adding 1.5 wt.% increased the cold crushing strength at 20 °C, while lower CAC amounts had no noticeable effect. A mullite phase was observed in the sample without CAC, and correspondingly, anorthite was found in those with CAC additions. The samples exhibited significant differences in the drying tests, with the degrees of damage increasing with the CAC addition. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers in Refractories and Ceramics: Microstructure, Properties and Applications (3rd Edition))
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