Synthesis, Microstructure and Properties of High-Strength Porous Ceramics

Porous ceramics containing tailored porosity exhibit special properties and features that usually cannot be achieved by their conventional dense counterparts. Thus, porous ceramics find nowadays many applications as final products and in several technological processes. Porous ceramics are of significant interest due to their wide apvplications in high-temp erature filters, thermal gas separation, lightweight structural components and thermal structural materials (Peng, H.X et al, 2000 Corbin, S. F and Apte, P. S1999 Fukasawa, T et al 2001). 

The properties for porous ceramics can be tailored for specific environmental application by controlling the composition and microstructiue of the porous ceramic. Changes in open and closed porosity, pore size distribution and pore morphology can have a major effect on a material s properties. All of these microstructural features are in turn highly influenced by the processing route used for the production of the porous material. For the mechanical properties, porous ceramics are determined by their structure parameters, such as porosity, pore size, and pore structure (DeviUe, S et al, 2006 Gough, J. E et al, 2004). Additionally, the 

The objective of this chapter is to adopt partial/pressureless sintering and freeze-casting routes for the preparation of high-strength porous titanium diboride (TiB2) and porous Zr02 ceramics, with particular emphasis on the processing-microstructure-property relations inherent to each process. 

Production of porous diboride titanium 2.1 Porous TiB2 

Fig 3(a) and (b) show the macro-morphology of sintered and machined porous TiB2 samples. The sintered sample fundamentally kept its shape and no macroscopic defects were found after machining. 

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Synthesis, Microstructure and Properties of High-Strength Porous Ceramics... 

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