Synthesis and Characterization of Ceramic Materials Based on the System MgO-CaO-TiO2 from Dolomite

Dolomite as natural raw material is an economically suitable alternative for the production of refractory materials. Considering the increasing interest in the exploitation of this mineral in Argentina, it has been used in previous works to synthesize refractories based on MgO-CaO-Al2O3, MgO-CaO-ZrO2 and MgO-CaO-ZrO2-SiO2 systems.This paper investigates the feasibility of using dolomites from the District of Olavarría to prepare composite materials with technological applications as dielectric ceramics, belonging to the MgO-CaO-TiO2 system, from a reactive mixture of dolomite-anatase containing 54% w/w of dolomite.The combination of XRD and spectroscopic FTIR techniques allowed phase changes produced during the firing process to be detected. It was also established that the main transformations occur at low temperatures. The microstructure of the final batch obtained at 1350 °C was analysed by SEM EDS. The material is mainly composed of calcium titanate, and magnesium titanates thermodynamically compatible; it does not contain free lime.