autoclaving slurries of porous , inorganic oxide particles results in an increased abrasiveness of the particles as reflected in increased removal rates of a polished substrate at standard polishing conditions in chemical mechanical polishing operations . slurries having novel abrasion properties , especially for silica - based slurries , are created . the increase in particle abrasivity strongly correlates with a decrease in particle surface area as determined by n 2 adsorption . as a result , methods for obtaining a desired abrasivity for a slurry can be practiced by heating a slurry of inorganic oxide particles to a bet surface area previously identified as associated with the abrasivity desired . the resulting slurries can be used in conventional polishing machinery . the method is particularly suitable for preparing silica - based abrasive slurries .