The state of iron impurities in a beryllium ceramic as determined from NGRS data

Iron impurities influence the sintering process of the BeO ceramic, its physical–chemical and performance characteristics. These impurities may concentrate in different areas of products during sintering and cause their coloring. The state of iron impurities in white-, gray-, and dark-color samples of a commercial BeO ceramic was studied by the methods of Mössbauer spectroscopy, electron paramagnetic resonance, and X-ray analysis. It was found that the total concentration of the iron impurity was smaller in the white samples than in the gray and blacks samples of the BeO ceramic. The white samples contained iron mostly in the form of α-Fe2O3 oxides or metallic iron. A higher intensity of the ceramic coloring corresponded to an increase in the iron concentration of beryllium solid solutions and their carbide and intermetallic derivatives.