Recently, ε-Fe2O3 has attracted interest because of its magnetic potentiality, but there are some difficulties to straightforwardly obtain the pure/single ε-Fe2O3 phase. We have found that ε-Fe2O3 crystallizes epitaxially on crystals of mullite in our study on a Japanese traditional stoneware called “Bizen” . Since the particle morphology of ε-Fe2O3 and the relative ε-Fe2O3-to-mullite crystallographic orientation strongly depend on the oxygen partial pressure during firing and the temperature range, the formation conditions is very complicated. We believe that elucidating the formation mechanism of ε-Fe2O3 will contribute to the development of novel magnetic materials.
We are also working on the development of Al-B-C high-temperature structural materials. Ternary metal borocarbides, Al3BC3, have been considered as promising candidates for lightweight structural components. We have succeeded in synthesizing hexagonal plate-like Al3BC3 particles by a simple synthesis method, and the sintered sample exhibited anisotropic mechanical properties and higher bending strength due to particle orientation. Currently, we are proceeding with various physical property measurements.