Preparation of CaSiO3 whiskers from alkali halide fluxes

CaSiO3 whiskers were prepared from fine CaSiO3 powder by use of alkali halide fluxes, NaCl, KCl, and their mixture. The CaSiO3 powder and the flux were mixed and heated at temperatures from 850 to 1000°C for 1 to 48 h. The average lengths, diameters and aspect ratios ranged from 3.24 to 10.5 μm, 0.33 to 1.12 μm and 7.1 to 21.7, respectively. The diameter of the whiskers increased with increasing heating temperature more rapidly than the length, so that the aspect ratio decreased with increasing temperature. The whiskers were considered to grow by an Ostwald ripening mechanism.