The absorptivity of endothermic materials serves as a critical index for solar thermal power photothermal conversion systems, and ceramic-based endothermic materials characterized by high absorptivity also exhibit elevated sintering temperatures. In this study, CaF 2 was employed as an additive to investigate its effects on the physical properties and microstructure of the samples, with a particular focus on the mechanism by which CaF 2 reduces the sintering temperature of corundum-based endothermic ceramics. The results showed that the G2 sample (1 wt% CaF 2 ), sintered at 1650 °C, displayed the best physical properties, including 93 % absorptivity, 165.43 MPa bending strength. The sintering temperature of the CaF 2 -doped G-series samples was around 60 °C lower due to liquid-phase calcium hexaaluminate formation from CaF 2 and Al 2 O 3 , which enhanced atomic migration and facilitated ceramic matrix sintering. Additionally, the capillary forces of the liquid-phase calcium hexaaluminate promoted ceramic matrix shrinkage and accelerated corundum-based grain growth through the dissolution-precipitation mechanism, leading to densification. Moreover, the G2 sample exhibited excellent durability, with absorptivity decreasing by only 1.9 % after 100 h at 1000 °C.
Ferrotitanium slag (FTS) is the waste product that has gained attention as a potential calcium hexaaluminate (CA 6 ) resource in recent years. In this study, the phase distribution of FTS and CA 6 aggregate was compared, and its effect on the cryolite resistance of castables was further studied. Scanning electron microscopy and least-squares refinement program were used to characterize the phase distribution and crystallographic parameters of ferrotitanium slag. Computational and experimental results demonstrate that ferrotitanium slag contains denser and larger hibonite crystals compared to synthetic calcium hexaaluminate. Ti element exists in the hibonite crystal in the form of coupled substitution or direct substitution of Al 3+ . Performance evaluation in refractory castables also confirms the resulting improvement in corrosion resistance.