Fabrication and assessment of reinforced ceramic electrical insulator from bamboo leaf ash waste

This is an attempt to study the effect of bamboo leaf ash (BLA) substitution on quartz in the ceramic insulator sintered at 1250 degrees C for 2 h. The Physico-mechanical properties, structural, morphological and dielectric characteristics of the ceramic samples were examined by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Differential thermal analysis (DTA), Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and dielectric measurement techniques respectively. The study revealed that 10% BLA replacement was better in physico-mechanical performance than the commercial ceramic insulator attributed to the increase of secondary mullite crystals in the BLA reinforced treated sample. Also the incorporation of BLA showed no harmful effect in the ceramic matrix. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.