In general, the presence of Fe2O3 is claimed to reduce the insulating behavior of electrical porcelains, even if a rigorous proof has not yet been
reported. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the real influence of Fe2O3 content on the electrical resistivity of a standard aluminous
porcelain widely used in insulators. The electrical resistivity for the composition with 3 wt% Fe2O3 was higher than those found for standard
aluminous porcelain, which was discussed in terms of the concentration of glassy and mullite phases. A reduction in the electrical resistivity was
only observed in porcelain samples containing over 3 wt% Fe2O3. The presence of hematite phase was considered responsible for this reduction.
These results suggest that low-cost raw materials with greater Fe2O3 content should not extensively affect the insulating properties and could
therefore be used in manufacturing aluminous electrical porcelain.
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