Colloidal Silica

[ronyon]

jonathan byler on fri 11 jun 10





Tony,



my understanding is the ITC is made up by mixing zirconia flour with

colloidal silica. have you tried this yet? I have been looking to

get ahold of some colloidal silica (fumed silica suspended in water)

for making castable anyway. colloidal silica is supposed to be an

excellent bonding and suspension agent and doesn't pose the same

problems that portland cement does in castable formulas. my

understanding is that the colloidal silica helps keep the ITC in

suspension in addition to helping it bond before it is fired.

www.potters.org/subject112718.htm





So, what about this stuff? A cheaper alternative for fireplace  mortar in homemade mixes?

[Deleted]

Colloidal silica is highly dispersed silicon dioxide.
Rather expensive.

The extremely fine silicon particles envelop solid particles with a layer
so that the forces are reduced between the individual particles.
The silicon particles are capable of forming a three-dimensional network,
this property is especially important for the production of gels.

In short, the flowability of powders is improved and fluids are thickened.