Influence of CeO₂ addition on the preparation of foamed glass-ceramics from high-titanium blast furnace slag

Foamed glass-ceramics doped with cerium oxide (CeO₂) were successfully prepared from high-titanium blast furnace slag by one-step sintering. The influence of CeO₂ addition (1.5wt%–3.5wt%) on the crystalline phases, microstructure, and properties of foamed glass-ceramics was studied. Results show that CeO₂ improves the stability of the glass phase and changes the two-dimensional crystallization mechanism into three-dimensional one. XRD analysis indicates the presence of Ca(Mg, Fe)Si₂O₆ and Ca(Ti, Mg, Al)(Si, Al)₂O₆ in all sintered samples. Added with CeO₂, TiCeO₄ precipitates, and crystallinity increases, leading to increased thickness of pore walls and uniform pores. The comprehensive properties of foamed glass-ceramics are better than that of samples without CeO₂. In particular, the sample added with a suitable amount of CeO₂ (2.5wt%) exhibits bulk density that is similar to and compressive strength (14.9 MPa) that is more than twice of foamed glass-ceramics without CeO₂.