WO2023287767A1

WO2023287767A1 - Abrasive composite

Info

Publication number: WO2023287767A1
Application number: PCT/US2022/036793
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kurt HEIKKILA; John KROLL
Original assignee: Tundra Composites, LLC
Priority date: 2021-07-13
Filing date: 2022-07-12
Publication date: 2023-01-19

Abstract

An abrasive composite of a substrate, a self-ordered array of abrasive particle and a bond of atoms from the substrate, the abrasive, and an interfacial modifier. An abrasive article comprises a support with a coating of a plurality of the abrasive composite.

Description

Abrasive Composite

Cross Reference to Related Applications

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/287,048, filed December 7^th, 2021, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/221,181 filed July 13^th, 2021. All applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

Field

The claims relate to an abrasive composite made by bonding an abrasive onto a core substrate. The composite can be used in abrasive layer formed on a support to form an abrasive object.

Background

Abrasive objects with particulate are known, can be made, and used. The coating typically involves combining a resinous or adhesive material with a plurality of abrasive particles and bonding the particles using the resin onto the support or backing material. Such articles can be flexible or inflexible, can be a sheet, a disc, or an abrasive belt. Conventional coated articles have a known abrasive lifetime. The lifetimes are limited by contamination with materials transferred from the abraded surface, by the loss of abrasive material from the surface of the article, or by the wear of the abrasive leaving a much less abrasive surface. To remedy the problems arising from the use of conventional abrasives coatings an improved abrasive is needed such that it is less likely to be surface contaminated, suffer abrasive wear or loss or otherwise damaged.

Abrasives have a known lifetime. The functional lifetime is limited by contamination of the functional particle from the use environment. Further, the lifetime is limited by the loss of functional material from the surface of the article during use. There is a substantial need to develop an easily manufactured composite comprising functional abrasive particulate. A need is seen to reduce a manufacturing cost and improve manufacturing methods of the abrasive functional particle onto a substrate. A substantial need exists for a functional particle article or element using the functional particle substrate. To remedy the problems arising from the use of conventional material/particle coatings an improved functional composite has been developed. Brief Description

The claims relate to a composite made by sintering a substrate particle coated with an interfacial modifier (IM) and an abrasive particulate.

The term “abrasive composite” is substrate particle with a sintered abrasive coating bonded to the substrate.

The term “abrasive” means an aspherical particulate and takes its conventional meaning as used in abrasive articles.

The term “substrate particle” means an aspherical or spherical particle that can be coated and bonded to an array of the abrasive particles.

The term “larger substrate” is an inorganic material upon which the smaller substrate particle and array of aspherical abrasive particles form a coating.

The term “smaller substrate” is an inorganic material upon which the smaller aspherical abrasive particles form an array in a second embodiment.

The “array” of the aspherical abrasive particles is an ordered distribution on the surface of the smaller substrate in one or more layers, often substantially in a single layer or monolayer. The layer comprises a fused coating of meltable material such as a glass and an interfacial modifier that is heat treated to form a fused bond. The array can fully cover or partially cover the substrate.

The term “self-ordered” is the packing of the particulate in an array or in a layer. The packing density in the layer is often greater than 50, 60, 70, 80 or 90% of the surface area of the periphery of the substrate.

The term ’’sintered,” “heat bonded,” “fusion” or, “fusing”’ means that a bond is formed, using heat at sintering temperatures, between the central substrate and the array of abrasive particulate. The abrasive particles may also be bonded to each other in a like manner. The bond can be formed comprising atoms from both the substrate and the abrasive particles and non volatile component of the interfacial modifier. In an embodiment the heat bond is formed at a sintering temperature below the melting point of the substrate.

Brief Description of Figures

FIG. 1 shows a cross-section of a portion of the composite to show larger and smaller substrates with the abrasive embedded in a fused coating. FIG. 2 shows a cross-section of a portion of another embodiment of the composite to show the larger and smaller substrate with the abrasive embedded in a fused coating.

Detailed Description

A composite used in an abrasive articles and applications thereof are disclosed. The claimed abrasive composite can be made with three or more components. A substrate can have an ordered coating or array of abrasive particles with a coating of an interfacial modifier. This structure can be sintered to form the final abrasive composite of a substrate particle with an array of abrasive particles and the residue of the interfacial modifier. In this embodiment the substrate particle can be aspherical or spherical, hollow, or solid etc.

Another embodiment of the abrasive composite can be made with four or more components. An IM coated or uncoated smaller substrate particle can be contacted with an interfacial modifier and an abrasive particulate forming a self-ordered array of the abrasive particulate on the substrate to make an initial structure. This initial structure can be contacted with a larger substrate and optionally an interfacial modifier to form a self-ordered array of the smaller coated substrate on the larger substrate. This can be sintered to form the final abrasive composite that exposes the abrasive on the surface of the smaller substrate for abrasive use.

Also, a larger substrate can be coated with an interfacial modifier and an abrasive particulate and sintered to form an abrasive composite wherein the abrasive particulate is bonded through the sintering process to the larger substrate. An alternative embodiment can contain a larger substrate and a smaller substrate. In this composite, the smaller substrate can be coated with an interfacial modifier and an abrasive particulate can be used as is or can be sintered to bond the abrasive particulate to the substrate. Once bonded, the initial composite can be contacted with a larger substrate having an interfacial modifier coating, which is then sintered to bond the initial composite to the larger substrate, forming the final sintered abrasive composite.

Aspherical abrasive

In a general sense, an abrasive object is typically made by bonding an abrasive particle to a surface to expose the abrasive particle to abrasive use. The abrasive object can be used to abrade, smooth, or polish a surface. If the surface is soft, such as wood, then a relatively soft abrasive material may be used. Usually, however, abrasive connotes a hard gnarly or aspherical substance, compared to the target surface, ranging from naturally occurring sands to the hardest material known, diamond. Functionally, abrasives operate by removing material from the surface leaving a "scratch". The dimensions and shape of the abrasive governs the size of the cracks. A grit that leaves a scratch is smaller that which can be seen, is used. While loose or powdered materials can be used as abrasive, commonly, modem abrasives are bonded and coated materials. Bonded materials typically are made by bonding composite into objects, while coated materials are made by bonding abrasive composites onto a substrate or backing layer such as paper, plastic, cloth, or metal.

Abrasives, typically aspherical, have a particle size of from about 1 to 300, or 2 to 60, or 3 to 40 m (micron) and typically have varying scales of hardness that can range from 1 to 10 on the Mohs scale. However most commonly, abrasive hardness typically ranges from about 6 to greater than about 9 depending on the surface target. Both naturally occurring abrasives such as diamonds, corundum, emery, garnet, silica, sandstone, pumice, and pumicite are known similarly manufactured adhesives include silicon carbide, fused aluminum oxide, sintered aluminum oxide, sol-gel sintered aluminum oxide, fused zirconia-alumina, synthetic diamond, cubic boron nitride, boron carbide, slags, steel, and grit. These manufactured abrasives are often formed into specific shapes such as spheres, cubes, pyramidal objects, et cetera, such as the 3M ^® replicated particulate abrasive structure manufactured by 3M of St. Paul, Minnesota. Abrasive particulate can be used in a variety of sizes that range from less than one micron up to as large as one or more millimeters. Both flexible and rigid backing materials or substrates can be used to form abrasive articles.

Substrate

A core or substrate particle is understood in the context of this application includes spherical or aspherical natural ceramic or inorganic materials. Inorganic compounds are of a mineral, not biological origin. Inorganic compound as minerals typically includes inorganic minerals that are found in nature or their synthetic equivalents. Commonly available inorganic minerals include mineral carbonates, mineral aluminates, mineral alumino-silicates, mineral oxides, mineral hydroxides, mineral bicarbonates, mineral sulfates, mineral fluorides, mineral phosphates, mineral alumo-phosphates, mineral alumo-silicates. Examples of inorganic minerals include bauxite (aluminum ore), calcium carbonate, calcium hydroxide, calcium sulfate, cuprous and cupric sulfide, lead oxide, magnesium carbonate, magnesium oxide, magnesium sulfate, magnesium alum compounds, such as potassium alumo-silicate, potassium borate, potassium carbonate, potassium sulfate and other compounds, including sodium silicate, sodium sulfate, etc. A ceramic particle is typically defined as an inorganic crystalline oxide material. Ceramics are typically solid and inert. Ceramic materials tend to be brittle, hard, strong in compression and weak in shear or tension. Ceramics generally have a high melting point that is typically greater than 1,000°C, but often ranges from 1,800 to 3,000°C and in some cases even higher. Traditionally, ceramic materials include various silicates, materials derived from clay, such as kaolinite. More recent ceramic materials include aluminum oxide, silicon carbide and tungsten carbide. Other ceramics include oxides of aluminum and zirconium. Non-oxide ceramics include metal carbides, metal borides, metal nitrides and metal silicide. The core or substrate has a useful diameter range of from about 500 microns to 5 mm or 0 5 to 2 mm or 1.0 to 1.5 mm. In comparison, the aspherica! abrasive particulates are smaller and in the range of from about 1 to 300. or 5 to 60, or 15 to 40 m (micron). An array (i.e.) substantially a monolayer over the surface of the larger substrate can be formed. The surface area of the central larger substrate comprises about 50 to 100 % or 80 to 99% coverage in a substantial monolayer of the smaller coated substrate.

In one embodiment, the abrasive is affixed to the surface of the substrate or backing.

The interfacial modifier is used to form a self-ordered array of the abrasive particulate that substantially covers the surface of the substrate. Once sintered, the embodiments of the abrasive composite form a bond between the abrasive particulate and the surface of the core or substrate. In sintering, the temperatures of the process reach a level such that primarily the organic components present on the surface of the substrates, the abrasive and in the interfacial modifier itself are typically removed by the heating step, leaving the abrasive particulate and the substrates along with any non-volatile or inorganic component of the interfacial modifier. The interfacial modifier both obtains the self-ordered coating of the abrasive particulate on the surface of the substrates and promotes the formation of the sintered bonding in a heating step. The appropriate interfacial modifier for manufacturing any composite abrasive can be measured by monitoring the temperature of the heating, bonding, or sintering step in which the substrate and adhesive are fused to ensure that the volatile material and the organic components of the interfacial modifier are substantially removed in the heating step. The abrasive particles are typically dispersed on the surface of any substrate using the interfacial modifier coating, which promotes the self-ordering of the abrasive particles into a single layer if appropriate amounts of the abrasive particles are used. In the case that insufficient quantity of abrasive particle is used, then the surface of the substrate will not be fully covered even though the IM tends to promote the formation of a uniform single layer coating. Again, if excess abrasive particulate is used, the abrasive particulate will form a substantially complete layer of abrasive particulate while some of the excess particulate will not be bonded to the substrate. However, some abrasive particulate may yet be bonded in addition to and above the single layer. In the sintering process, any organic component of the interfacial modifier is substantially volatilized, leaving a fused, bonded interface between the non-volatile portions of the interfacial modifier, the abrasive, and the substrate surface. Typically, minimal amounts of organic materials are present on the surface of the abrasive or the substrate and do not contribute to bond formation between the abrasive materials and the related surfaces.

Process

The interfacial modifier (IM) has two functions. The IM promotes self-ordering of the aspherical abrasive particle in a layer and promotes the fused bonding to form an abrasive object. The IM coating on the object can also promote compatibility (i.e.) the capacity to be dispersed, combinability or wettability of the object with a polymer in an end use. In an embodiment both the larger substrate and smaller substrate are typically coated with an interfacial modifier (IM), that supports or enhances the final stabilized abrasive properties. The abrasives can be coated with IM separately or the abrasives can be combined and then coated. Further, the large substrate can be coated with the interfacial modifier and the smaller abrasives can be arrayed upon the large substrate.

Coat Substrates

The process of forming the abrasive composite begins with obtaining a plurality of the larger substrate. The larger substrate is then coated with an interfacial modifier followed by the abrasive particulate. However, the larger substrate can be coated with a combination of interfacial modifier and abrasive particulate. Regardless of the order of addition, the interfacial modifier promotes the formation of a closely ordered single self-ordered layer of interfacial modifier and promotes the bonding or fusion of the abrasive particulate to the surface at the sintering temperatures. Suitable amounts of the interfacial modifier and the abrasive particulate are selected for the purpose of ensuring that a substantially continuous and uniform self-ordered layer of the abrasive particulate is formed on the substrate surface, such that when sintered forms an exterior layer of the abrasive particulate.

Similarly in a second embodiment of the claims, both the larger substrate and the smaller substrate are contacted with the appropriate amounts of abrasive particulate and an interfacial modifier to form a complete single layer of abrasive and particular and interfacial modifier on the surface of the substrates before sintering. In the absence of the interfacial modifier, the abrasive particulate 1) does not readily associate with a substrate, and 2) typically fails to form a uniform self-ordered layer of abrasive particulates on the surface, resulting in the inability to form a useful abrasive composite and the wastage of abrasive particulate materials.

Further, a substantial excess of interfacial modifier or abrasive can prevent the complete effective formation of a continuous self-ordered abrasive particulate layer on the surface of any of the substrates. In the practice of these embodiments, the processing, including the mixing of the various abrasive particulates with the interfacial modifier and the coating of the substrates with any combination of interfacial modifier and abrasive particulate to cover the surfaces of the substrates can be conducted within a reasonable time for production efficiency.

This surface treatment and coating to form the self-ordered layer of abrasive particulate on the surface of the substrates can occur in a reasonable period, such as for example, at least 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 or 60 seconds, or from about 5 to about 180 seconds. The method includes coating a supply of the substrate, either the larger substrate or the smaller substrate with about 0.05 to about five or about 0.1 to about two parts by weight of an interfacial modifier, based on the particulate, which can be blended if desired with about 1 to about 10 or 3 to about 5 parts of the aspherical abrasive to the surface of the substrate. Once coated, the abrasive particulate forms a self-ordered array and then can be sintered to form the final abrasive composite.

Heat bonding

The key steps in making the composite abrasive are 1) preparation of the large or small substrates being used for making the abrasive composite, 2) coating the large substrate component and, optionally, the smaller abrasive components with interfacial modifier, 3) mixing the small abrasive components with the large components 4) obtaining a substantially complete, single layer, self-ordered array of the small abrasive components onto the large central components; and 5) heating the large and small abrasive components to form a large substrate, heat bonding to the ordered array of a plurality of small abrasives on the central surface. The large component is well covered with the small asymmetrical abrasives on the surface of the large component through the effect of the interfacial modifier coated on the surface of the large component. In an embodiment the coverage of the array of small asymmetrical abrasive component over the large substrate component in a single ordered layer, often monolayer, of the small abrasives on each of the large substrates in a mixture. An ordered array of the small abrasive component on the interfacially modified surface of the large substrate can be greater than 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, or 95% of the surface area of the large substrate component.

When heated to a bonding temperature, the coating, abrasive and interfacial modifier can combine to form a heated fused bond between substrate and abrasive particles. Heat bonding, together by volatilizing any organic component of the assembly, produces alloying, atomic diffusion or atomic transport events between components and IM. The driving force is the combination of atoms at the interface and a reduction in the system free energy, manifested by decreased surface curvatures, and an elimination of surface area. The bond contains mass derived from the substrate, the smaller asymmetrical abrasive, and any non-organic, non-volatile component of the IM.

The interfacial modifier on a surface may cooperate in the heat bonding process and in obtaining a polymer compatible abrasive composite.

The interfacial modified surfaces that bond may be the same or different relative to the organic interfacial modifier. Sintering temperatures can be used. Sintering temperatures, we have used are about 500 to 800 °C. A useful temperature is about 740 to 780 °C. Heating time ranges from 15 to 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 110 or 120 seconds. A useful time is less than 60 seconds. Using a heating profile that ramps temperature slowly from ambient to a maximum and holding for a period before slowly returning to ambient is helpful in forming the fusion bond.

In some embodiments, the abrasive composite, either large substrate component or the small substrate component, include at least one of silica, alumina, zirconia, a silicate, a polymer, a diatomaceous earth, a ceramic, such as a ferrite, or an organic compound or object. In some embodiments that include silica, the silica can be, for example, fumed silica, precipitated silica, surface modified silica, or nano-silica. Some examples of such silica-containing objects include, for example, fumed silica available under the trade designation AEROSIL from Evonik Degussa, (Parsippany, N. J.); precipitated silica available under the trade designation FLO-GARD from PPG Industries (Pittsburgh, Pa.), and nano-silica as described in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,394,977, incorporated herein by reference.

In some embodiments the aspherical abrasive particles can have non-spherical shapes that can include cubic, tetrahedral, pyramidal, etc. Non-spherical shapes can be mixed in the making of the abrasive depending on the application. A combination of a larger particles and an abrasive wherein there is about 0.1 to 40 or 5 to 35 wt.% of the smaller abrasive particles and about 99.9 to about 75 or 95 to 65 wt.% of larger substrates can be used were the ratio of the diameter of the larger objects to the ratio of the abrasive is greater than about 2:1, 3:1, 4:1, 5:1, 6:1, 7:1, 10:1 or 12:1. Percentages are based on the composite.

Interfadai Modifier (IM)

An interfacially modified coating is a substantially complete coating of an interfacial modifier (IM) with a thickness of less than 1000 Angstroms often less than 200 Angstroms, and commonly 10 to 500 Angstroms (A). An interfacial modifier is an organo-metallic material that provides an exterior coating. Such a coating can be used initially to produce the object and can also be used as a coating on the finished object before combining the object into the abrasive object.

An interfacial modifier is an organic material, in some examples an organo-metallic material, that provides an exterior coating on the components to provide a surface that can promote the formation of an array of abrasive particulate. Once formed the coated substrate is heated to fuse the components. During heating, the organic portions of the IM and other organics are volatilized, and the non-volatile portions cooperate with the components to form and enhance the bonding structure. Thus, an interfacial modifier is not an adhesive because two surfaces are not being joined together to resist separation. In one embodiment, the coating of interfacial modifier at least partially covers the surface of the abrasive particle. In another embodiment, the coating of interfacial modifier continuously and uniformly covers the surface of the abrasive, in a continuous coating phase layer.

Interfacial modifiers fall into broad categories including, for example, titanate compounds, zirconate compounds, hafnium compounds, samarium compounds, strontium compounds, neodymium compounds, yttrium compounds, boron compounds, cobalt compounds, phosphonate compounds, aluminate compounds and zinc compounds. Aluminates, phosphonates, titanate, and Zirconate that are useful contain from about 1 to about 3 ligands comprising hydrocarbyl phosphate esters and/or hydrocarbyl sulfonate esters and about 1 to 3 hydrocarbyl ligands which may further contain unsaturation and heteroatoms such as oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur. In embodiments, the titanate and zirconate contain from about 2 to about 3 ligands comprising hydrocarbyl phosphate esters and/or hydrocarbyl sulfonate esters, preferably 3 of such ligands and about 1 to 2 hydrocarbyl ligands, preferably 1 hydrocarbyl ligand.

In one embodiment, the interfacial modifier that can be used is a type of organo-metallic material such as organo-cobalt, organo-iron, organo-nickel, organo-titanate, organo-boron, organo-aluminate organo-strontium, organo-neodymium, organo-yttrium, organo-zinc, or organo-zirconate. The specific type of organo-titanate, organo-aluminates, organo-strontium, organo-neodymium, organo-yttrium, organo-cobalt, organo-zirconate which can be used, and which can be referred to as organo-metallic compounds are distinguished by the presence of at least one hydrolysable group and at least one organic moiety.

Mixtures of the organo-metallic materials may be used. The mixture of the interfacial modifiers may be applied inter- or intra- abrasive particle, which means at least one abrasive particle may have more than one interfacial modifier coating the surface (intra), or more than one interfacial modifier coating may be applied to different abrasives or abrasive particle size distributions (inter).

Certain of these types of compounds may be defined by the following general formula:

M (Ri) _n (R2) _m wherein M is a central atom selected from such metals as, for example, Ti, Al, Hf, Sm, Sr, Nd, Y, B, Co, P, Zn, and Zr and other metal centers; Ri is a hydrolysable group; R2 is a group consisting of an organic moiety, preferably an organic group that is non-reactive with polymer or other film former; wherein the sum of m+n must equal the coordination number of the central atom and where n is an integer > 1 and m is an integer >1. Particularly Ri is an alkoxy group having less than 12 carbon atoms. Other useful groups are those alkoxy groups, which have less than 6 carbons, and alkoxy groups having 1-3 C atoms. R2 is an organic group including between 6-30, preferably 10-24 carbon atoms optionally including one or more hetero atoms selected from the group consisting of N, O, S and P. R2IS a group consisting of an organic moiety, which is not easily hydrolyzed and is often lipophilic and can be a chain of an alkyl, ether, ester, phospho-alkyl, phospho-lipid, or phospho-amine. The phosphorus may be present as phosphate, pyrophosphato, or phosphito groups. Furthermore, R2 may be linear, branched, cyclic, or aromatic. R2 is substantially unreactive, i.e., not providing attachment or bonding, to other objects or fiber within the composite material. Titanates provide antioxidant properties and can modify or control cure chemistry.

The interfacial modifier results in a practical and workable composite. The IM promotes the formation of the array of abrasive on the substrate and promotes the formation of the more complex composite with a large and a smaller substrate. Minimal amounts of the modifier can be used including about 0.005 to 8 wt.-%, about 0.01 to 6 wt.-%, about 0.02 to 5 wt.-%, or about 0.02 to 3 wt.%. The IM coating can be formed as a coating of at least 3 molecular layers or at least about 50 or about 100 to 500 or about 100 to 1000 angstroms (A).

The formulation for a useful composite is shown in the table below. If totals add up to more than 100% because the organic nature of the IM is burned off throughout the sintering steps, is consumed in making the product, but is not present in a significant amount in the final product.

Table 1 - Useful Components

The following preparation is set forth to describe a production method for a stable robust and composite. Into a 4-liter cylindrical open top heated rotary reaction vessel is placed an amount in grams of a soda lime glass core having a diameter of 1.5 or 2.0 millimeters. The rotary reaction vessel is heated to 75°C and rotated at about six revolutions per minute and into the reactive vessel is placed about 2.0 wt. % of an interfacial modifier. The reaction vessel is rotated for approximately 10 minutes to fully coat the glass cores with the interfacial modifier forming a layer that is approximately 10 to 40 m (microns) in thickness. An amount in grams of an abrasive particulate having a particle size including approximately 30 m is blended with the coated core. This combination was mixed until uniform and was then placed into the reaction vessel. The interaction between the blend of abrasive and the interfacial modifier layer causes, during rotation, the glass being uniformly distributed throughout the interfacial modifier layer and further causing a close packaging. During the coating step the stockpot is heated to a temperature of about 50°C. The coated abrasive substrate is removed from the stockpot and is placed in a crucible and is sintered for approximately 20 minutes with a sinter temperature profile begins at about 20 °C, rapidly ramps to a temperature that ranges between about 700 and 900 °C. After sintering the temperature of the crucible is reduced to ambient room temperature. This coating step is repeated building up the interface layer to about 10 to 120 m.

Examples Example 1

Table 2- Example 1- preparation

Detailed Description of FIGs, 1 and 2 Figure l is a partial or sectional cross-sectional representation of a first aspect of abrasive composite as claimed. In Figure 1 is seen composite 10 made up of large substrate particle 11. Arrayed on the surface of particle 11 is a self-ordered array of the abrasive particle 13 and the non-volatile components of the interfacial modifier coating 14. There residue forms after sintering. In the cross-sectional representation of the composite 10, the abrasive particle 13 is sinter bonded or fused to the underlying substrate particulate 11 by the sintering bonding obtained during sintering heating.

Figure 2 shows a partial or sectional cross-section view of a second embodiment of the claimed composite. In Figure 2 there is shown a larger substrate or substrate particle 11 and a smaller substrate or substrate particle 12. The particle 12 has a self-ordering IM coating 13 of the abrasive particulate and residue from the interfacial modifier after sintering. The coated smaller substrate particulates are also in an ordered array of the substrate materials on the surface of the larger substrate particle 11 and are in turn bonded to the surface of substrate particle 11 through sinter bonding with IM inorganic component in a layer of the smaller particles 12 and the larger particle 11.

Test and Measurement Procedures The structure of the coating can be seen. When using this technology with glass beads that have a diameter of, for example, 0.5 to 2 mm be easily handled manually, a single coated sphere can be abraded using conventional abrasion techniques to reveal the cross-sectional view of the resulting coated product, and once processed in this abrasive technology, then the individual coatings and abrasive particles are readily apparent and can be assessed and counted under conventional light microscopy.

While the claimed structures do not contain any further modifications, the claimed structures can be made by a third party and are ideal for further chemical processing to add processing functionality that is not present in the simple coated structures. However, the coated structures are well suited for further processing into a high temperature functional material and are envisioned as a valuable product with nothing added by us other than the fused layer(s). The claims may suitably comprise, consist of, or consist essentially of, or be substantially free or free of any of the disclosed or recited elements. The claimed technology is illustratively disclosed herein can also be suitably practiced in the absence of any element which is not specifically disclosed herein. The various embodiments described above are provided by way of illustration only and should not be construed to limit the claims attached hereto. Various modifications and changes may be made without following the example embodiments and applications illustrated and described herein, and without departing from the true spirit and scope of the following claims. Consisting essentially of means that additional eomponent(s), composition(s), or method step(s) that do not materially change the basic and novel characteristics of the compositions and methods described herein may be included in those compositions or methods and that all the elements recited must be present, and additional elements may be present provided they are only incidental to function or efficacy. Consisting of is a transitional phrase used in a patent claim that excludes any element, step or ingredient not specified in the claim . The claim is subject to avoidance if another element is added.

The specification shows an enabling disclosure of the composite technology, other embodiments may be made with the claimed materials. Accordingly, the invention is embodied solely in the claims hereinafter appended.

The claims may suitably comprise, consist of, or consist essentially of, or be substantially free or free of any of the disclosed or recited elements. The claimed technology is illustratively disclosed herein can also be suitably practiced in the absence of any element which is not specifically disclosed herein. The various embodiments described above are provided by way of illustration only and should not be construed to limit the claims attached hereto. Various modifications and changes may be made without following the example embodiments and applications illustrated and described herein, and without departing from the true spirit and scope of the following claims.

The specification shows an enabling disclosure of the composite technology, other embodiments may be made with the claimed materials.

Claims

We Claim:

1. An abrasive composite consisting of a substrate particle with an abrasive particulate bonded to the substrate particle with a bond consisting of atoms from the abrasive, the substrate particle, and a central atom of an interfacial modifier.

2. The composite of claim 1 wherein the abrasive particle comprises aluminum oxide, zirconium oxide, silicon dioxide, carborundum, titanium carbide, silicon carbide, or tungsten carbide.

3. The composite of claim 1 wherein the abrasive comprises a synthetic abrasive particle.

4. The composite of claim 3 wherein the substrate comprises an inorganic particle comprising a carbonate, an aluminate, an alumino-silicate, a metal oxide, or a sulfonate.

5. The composite of claim 1 wherein for every part by weight of the substrate there are about 3 to 20 parts by weight of the abrasive particles.

6. The composite of claim 1 wherein for every part by weight of the abrasive composite there is about 0.01 to 4 parts by weight of the interfacial modifier.

7. The composite of claim 1 wherein the surface of the substrate is covered by a substantially complete self-ordered array of the abrasive particulate.

8. The composite of claim 1 wherein substrate size is in the range of 500 microns to about 2 mm.

9. The composite of claim lwherein the abrasive particle size is in the range of 1 m to 250 m.

10. The composite of claim 1 substantially free of any thermoplastic adhesive components.

11. The composite of claim 1 wherein a ratio of diameter of substrate to the abrasive particulate is greater than 200: 1.

12. A particulate abrasive comprising a plurality of the abrasive composite of claim 1.

13. An abrasive article comprising a backing or support layer with a coating of the abrasive composite of claim 1.

14. A process of forming a composite particle, comprising the steps of:

(a) coating a substrate particle with a coating composition comprising a mixture of an abrasive particle and an interfacial modifier; and

(b) sintering the initial composite to form the abrasive composite consisting a self-ordered array of the abrasive particulate on the surface of the substrate with a central atom of the non-volatile residue of the interfacial modifier.