Just to note many thermal compound scan be substituted for lapping compounds and many compounds contain significant amounts of Aluminum Oxide, which is nearly as hard as diamond. Many of Arctic silver products contain it as well as other manufacturer thermal compounds . I have tested 7 other compounds on oxidized copper plate and have found them all to be approximately equivalent abrasive.
To be abrasive you just have to be harder than the copper IHS which rates near the bottom of the hardness MOHS scale.
In short nearly all thermal compounds can be defined as Lapping compounds
Aluminum Oxide is what they make sandpaper out of...
This is a common well known abrasive read the wikipedia cut, as an example check the cut from ceramiq MSDS and MOHS table of hardness
Corundum
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Corundum
General
Category Oxide mineral – Hematite group
Chemical formula Aluminium oxide, Al2O3
Strunz classification IV/C.04-10
Dana classification 4.3.1.1
Crystal symmetry Trigonal (32/m)
Unit cell a = 4.75 Å, c = 12.982 Å; Z=6
Identification
Color Colorless, gray, brown; pink to pigeon-blood-red, orange, yellow, green, blue to cornflower blue, violet; may be color zoned, asteriated mainly grey and brown
Crystal habit Steep bipyramidal, tabular, prismatic, rhombohedral crystals, massive or granular
Crystal system Trigonal (Hexagonal Scalenohedral)
Symbol (32/m)
Space group: R3c
Twinning Polysynthetic twinning common
Cleavage None – parting in 3 directions
Fracture Conchoidal to uneven
Mohs scale hardness 9
Luster Adamantine to vitreous
Streak White
Diaphaneity Transparent, translucent to opaque
Specific gravity 3.95–4.10
Optical properties Uniaxial (–)
Refractive index nω = 1.767–1.772
nε = 1.759–1.763
Pleochroism None
Melting point 2044 °C
Fusibility Infusible
Solubility Insoluble
Alters to May alter to mica on surfaces causing a decrease in hardness
Other characteristics May fluoresce or phosphoresce under UV
References [1][2][3][4]
Major varieties
Sapphire Any color except red
Ruby Red
Emery Black granular corundum intimately mixed with magnetite, hematite, or hercynite
Corundum is a crystalline form of aluminium oxide (Al2O3) with traces of iron, titanium and chromium.[1] It is a rock-forming mineral. It is one of the naturally clear transparent materials, but can have different colors when impurities are present. Transparent specimens are used as gems, called ruby if red, while all other colors are called sapphire.
The name "corundum" is derived from the Tamil word குருந்தம் "kuruntam" meaning "ruby", itself derived from the Sanskrit "kuruvinda".[3]
Because of corundum's hardness (pure corundum is defined to have 9.0 Mohs), it can scratch almost every other mineral. It is commonly used as an abrasive, on everything from sandpaper to large machines used in machining metals, plastics and wood. Some emery is a mix of corundum and other substances, and the mix is less abrasive, with a lower average hardness near 8.0.
In addition to its hardness, corundum is unusual for its density of 4.02 g/cm3, which is very high for a transparent mineral composed of the low atomic mass elements aluminium and oxygen.[5
Product Identification
Céramique High-Density Thermal Compound
Product Code: Céramique
SECTION 2: COMPOSITION/INFORMATION ON INGREDIENTS
Product Ingredient Information CAS No.
Aluminum Oxide 1344-28-1
Boron Nitride 10043-11-5
Zinc Oxide 1314-13-2
Proprietary Oil Blend Non-hazardous
TABLE 2. MOHS HARDNESSES OF SELECTED MATERIALS
Abrasive
Mohs Hardness
wax (0 deg C)
0.2
graphite
0.5 to 1
talc
1
copper
2.5 to 3
gypsum
2
aluminum
2 to 2.9
gold
2.5 to 3
silver
2.5 to 4
calcite
3
brass
3 to 4
fluorite
4
glass
4.5 to 6.5
asbestos
5
apatite
5
steel
5 to 8.5
cerium oxide
6
orthoclase
6
vitreous silica
7
beryl
7.8
quartz
8
topaz
9
aluminum oxide
9
silicon carbide (beta type)
9.2
boron carbide
9.3
boron
9.5
diamond
10
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